rnia 
1 


BY  SAMUEL    G    BAYN 


PAULINE  FORE  MOFFITT 
LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 


THE   REAL   THING  " 


On  An 
Irish  Jaunting-Car 

Through  Donegal  and  Connemara 


BY  S.  G.  BAYNE 


ILLUSTRATED 


NEW   YORK   AND   LONDON 

HARPER    £r    BROTHERS 

PUBLISHERS 


Copyright,  1902,  by  HARPER  &  BROTHERS. 


All  rights  rtserved. 

Published  November,  1902. 


PREFACE 

IN  the  compiling  of  this  little  book,  I 
am  deeply  indebted  for  historical  data,  etc., 
to  John  Cooke,  M.A.,  the  Messrs.  Black, 
Lord  Macaulay,  the  Four  Masters,  and 
many  others,  from  whose  writings  I  have 
made  extracts;  and  for  photographs  to 
Messrs.  W.  Lawrence,  T.  Glass,  and  Com- 
missioner Walker. 

I  sincerely  hope  I  may  be  forgiven  for 
the  shortcomings  and  errors  which  can 
doubtless  be  found  in  this  brief  sketch  of 
a  few  weeks'  tour  through  the  north,  west, 
and  south  of  Ireland. 

S.  G.  BAYNE. 

NEW  YORK  CITY. 


2043861 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

NEW  YORK  TO  LONDONDERRY i 

LONDONDERRY  TO  PORT  SALON 9 

PORT  SALON  TO  DUNFANAGHY 14 

DUNFANAGHY  TO  FALLCARRAGH 23 

FALLCARRAGH  TO  GWEEDORE 35 

GWEEDORE  TO  GLENTIES 4<> 

GLENTIES  TO  CARRICK 46 

CARRICK  TO  DONEGAL 49 

DONEGAL  TO  BALLYSHANNON 53 

BALLYSHANNON  TO  SLIGO 57 

SLIGO  TO  BALLINROBE 65 

BALLINROBE  TO  LEENANE 67 

LEENANE  TO  RECESS 70 

ACHILL  ISLAND 78 

RECESS  TO  GALWAY ,.    .    .    .  92 

ARAN  ISLANDS 106 

LIMERICK 117 

CORK  AND  QUEENSTOWN 128 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

"  THE  REAL  THING  " Frontispiece 

RATHMULLEN  ABBEY,   COUNTY  DONE- 
GAL     Facing  p.       IO 

CARXISK  BRIDGE  AND  SALMON -LEAP 
(IN  LOW  WATER),  NEAR  RAMELTON, 

COUNTY  DONEGAL "         12 

OUR  FIRST  CAR "         14 

IN     THE     GREAT     ARCH,     "  SEVEN 
ARCHES,"  PORT  SALON,   COUNTY 

DONEGAL "  l6 

DUNREE  FORT,  LOUGH  SWILLY, 

COUNTY  DONEGAL "  1 8 

TEMPLE  ARCH,  HORN  HEAD,  COUNTY 

DONEGAL 24 

"  McSWINE'S  GUN,"  HORN  H2AD, 

COUNTY  DONEGAL "  26 

GLEN  VEIGH,  COUNTY  DONEGAL  .  .  "  34 

A  TURF  BOG "  38 

NATIVES  OF  COUNTY  DONEGAL  .  .  "  44 

A  TURF  CREEL,  CARRICK,  COUNTY 

DONEGAL 50 

vii 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

DONEGAL  CASTLE Facing  p.       54 

SALMON-LEAP,  BALLYSHANNON,  COUN- 
TY DONEGAL "  60 

GOING  TO  THE  BOG  FOR  TURF,   BUN- 

DORAN,   COUNTY  DONEGAL    ...          "  62 

LORD      ARDILAUN'S      CASTLE,     CONG, 

COUNTY    MAYO "  66 

CONG  ABBEY,  COUNTY  MAYO  ....          "  68 

WATER-FALL  IN  THE  MARQUIS  OF 
SLIGO'S  DEMESNE,  WESTPORT, 
COUNTY  MAYO "  72 

KYLEMORE      CASTLE      AND      PRIVATE 

CHAPEL,   COUNTY  GALWAY    ...          "  74 

DEVIL'S  MOTHER  MOUNTAIN,  AAS- 
LEAGH  FALLS,  AND  SALMON-LEAP 
ON  ERRIFF  RIVER,  COUNTY  GAL- 
WAY  "  76 

THE  FISHERY,  ACHILL  ISLAND, 
SLIEVEMORE  IN  THE  DIS- 
TANCE    "  78 

CATHEDRAL      CLIFFS      AT      MENAWN, 

ACHILL  ISLAND "  84 

ACHILL  HEAD,   COUNTY  MAYO      ...  "  88 

BOYS  FISHING,  NEAR  RECESS,  COUNTY 

GALWAY "  94 

A  CONNEMARA  TINKER "  102 

THE    LANDING    OF    THE    COW,     ARAN 

ISLANDS "          106 

viii 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

ON  OUR  WAY  TO  DUN  AENGUS,  ARAN 

ISLANDS Facing  p.  I08 

"  WE  TAKE  TO  THE  WATER  IN  A 

CURRAGH."  ARAN  ISLANDS  .  .  "  112 

CURRAGHS,   ARAN  ISLANDS       ....  "  114 

THE  CLOISTERS,  ADARE  ABBEY, 

COUNTY  LIMERICK "  126 

SHE  SAT  AND  DROVE  ON  A  LOW- 
BACK  CAR "  134 

THE  KETTLE  IS  BOILING  FOR  OUR 

TEA  .  "  136 


ON   AN    IRISH    JAUNTING-CAR 

THROUGH  DONEGAL  AND  CONNEMARA 


NEW  YORK  TO  LONDONDERRY 

AT  New  York,  on  the  26th  of  June,  we 
boarded  the  SS.  Columbia,  the  new  twin- 
screw  steamer  of  the  Anchor  Line.  Every 
berth  was  taken,  and  as  the  passengers 
were  a  bright  set,  "  on  pleasure  bent,"  there 
was  an  entire  absence  of  formality  and 
exclusiveness.  They  sang,  danced,  and 
amused  themselves  in  many  original  ways, 
while  the  Columbia  reeled  off  the  knots 
with  a  clock-like  regularity  very  agree- 
able to  the  experienced  travellers  on 
board. 

As  our  destination  was  Londonderry,  we 
took  a  northerly  course,  which  brought  us 
into  floating  ice-fields  and  among  schools 
of  porpoises  and  whales ;  in  fact,  it  was  an 
uneventful  day  on  which  some  passenger 
i 


ON  AN  IRISH  JAUNTING-CAR 

could  not  boast  of  having  seen  "  a  spouter, 
just  a  few  minutes  ago!" 

We  celebrated  the  morning  of  the  Fourth 
of  July  in  a  very  pretentious  way  with  a 
procession  of  the  nations  in  costume  and 
burlesques  on  the  conditions  of  the  day. 
The  writer  was  cast  to  represent  the  Beef 
Trust,  and  at  two  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  pounds  the  selection  met  with  popular 
approval;  but  he  found  a  passenger  of 
thirty-five  pounds  more  in  the  foreground, 
and  thereupon  retired  to  the  side-lines. 
Attorney  Grant,  of  New  York,  made  a 
striking  "Rob  Roy/'  with  his  colossal 
Corinthian  pillars  in  their  natural  con- 
dition. A  long  list  of  games  and  a  variety 
of  races  for  prizes  gave  us  a  lively  after- 
noon, and  the  evening  wound  up  with  a 
"  grand  "  concert,  at  which  Professor  Green, 
of  Yale,  made  an  excellent  comic  oration. 

W.  A.  Ross,  of  New  York,  was  my  com- 
panion on  the  trip;  A.  B.  Hepburn,  ex- 
Comptroller  of  the  Currency,  intended  go- 
ing with  us,  but  was  prevented  at  the  last 
moment  by  a  pressure  of  business,  which 
we  very  much  regretted. 

The  steamer  soon  sighted  Tory  Island, 
rapidly  passed  Malin  Head,  and  then  turn- 
ed in  to  Lough  Foyle.  When  a  few  miles 


NEW   YORK   TO    LONDONDERRY 

inside  the  mouth  of  the  latter,  we  stopped 
at  Moville  and  the  passengers  for  Ireland 
were  sent  up  to  Londonderry  on  a  tender. 
We  were  so  far  north  and  the  date  was  so 
near  the  longest  day  that  we  could  easily 
read  a  paper  at  midnight,  and  as  we  did 
not  get  through  the  custom-house  until 
4  A.M.,  we  did  not  go  to  bed,  but  went  to  a 
hotel  and  had  breakfast  instead.  The 
custom-house  examination  at  Derry,  con- 
ducted under  the  personal  direction  of  a 
collector,  is  perhaps  the  most  exasperating 
ordeal  of  its  kind  to  be  found  in  any  port  in 
existence.  The  writer  has  passed  through 
almost  all  the  important  custom-houses  in 
the  world,  and  has  never  seen  such  a  dis- 
play of  inherent  meanness  as  was  shown 
by  this  "collector."  He  seized  with  glee 
and  charged  duty  upon  a  single  package 
of  cigarettes  belonging  to  a  passenger, 
and  he  "nabbed"  another  man  with  a 
quarter-pound  of  tobacco,  thereby  putting 
an  extra  shilling  into  his  King's  pocket. 
He  was  an  Irish  imitation  Englishman, 
and  his  h's  dropped  on  the  dock  like  a 
shower  of  peas  when  he  directed  his  under- 
strappers in  a  husky  squeak  how  best  to 
trap  the  passengers.  The  owner  of  the 
quarter-pound  of  tobacco  poured  out  the 
3 


ON  AN  IRISH  JAUNTING-CAR 

vials  of  his  wrath  on  the  "collector"  after- 
wards at  the  hotel:  "I  would  give  a  five- 
pound  note  to  get  him  in  some  quiet  place 
and  pull  his  parrot  nose/'  was  the  way  he 
wound  up  his  invective.  Neither  were  the 
ladies  allowed  to  escape,  their  clothing 
being  shaken  out  in  quest  of  tobacco  and 
spirits,  since  those  are  about  the  only 
articles  on  which  duty  is  charged.  The 
very  last  cigar  was  extracted  by  long  and 
bony  fingers  from  its  cosey  resting-place 
in  the  vest-pocket  of  a  passenger  who  shall 
be  nameless — hence  these  tears!  All  other 
ports  in  Europe  vie  with  one  another  in 
liberal  treatment  of  the  tourist;  they  want 
his  gold.  The  writer  landed  both  at  South- 
ampton and  Dover  last  summer,  and  at  the 
latter  place,  although  there  were  over  five 
hundred  trunks  and  satchels  on  the  steam- 
er, not  one  was  opened,  nor  was  a  single 
passenger  asked  a  question.  Smuggling 
means  the  sale  at  a  profit  of  goods  brought 
into  port  for  that  purpose;  nothing  from 
America  can  be  sold  at  a  profit,  unless  it  be 
steel  rails,  and  they  are  much  too  long  to 
carry  in  a  trunk. 

We  are  now  in  "Deny,"  as  it  is  called 
in  Ireland,  and  every  man  in  it  is  "town 
proud";  and  well  he  may  be,  as  Derry  has 
4 


NEW  YORK  TO  LONDONDERRY 

a  historical  record  second  to  but  few  cities 
in  any  country,  and  its  siege  is  perhaps  the 
most  celebrated  in  history.  At  this  writing 
it  has  a  population  of  thirty-three  thousand 
and  is  otherwise  prosperous.  Saint  Columba 
started  it  in  546  A.D.  by  building  his  abbey. 
Then  came  the  deadly  Dane  invader,  swoop- 
ing down  on  this  and  other  Foyle  settle- 
ments and  glutting  his  savage  appetite 
for  plunder.  Out  of  the  ruins  left  by  the 
Danes  arose  in  1164  the  "Great  Abbey  of 
Abbot  O'Brolchain,"  who  was  at  that  time 
made  the  first  bishop  of  Derry.  The  Eng- 
lish struggled  and  fought  for  centuries  to 
gain  a  foothold  in  this  part  of  Ireland, 
but  to  no  purpose  until  Sir  Henry  Docrora 
landed,  about  1600  A.D.,  on  the  banks  of 
the  Foyle  with  a  force  of  four  thousand 
men  and  two  hundred  horse.  He  restored 
Fort  Culmore  and  took  Derry,  destroyed 
all  the  churches,  the  stones  of  which  he 
used  for  building  fortifications,  and  left 
standing  only  the  tower  of  the  cathedral, 
which  remained  until  after  the  siege. 

In  1608  Sir  Cahir  O'Doherty,  of  Ini- 
showen,  who  at  first  had  favored  the  settle- 
ment, rebelled,  took  Culmore  fort,  and  burn- 
ed Derry.  His  death,  and  the  "  flight  of  the 
earls  "  Tyrone  and  Tyrconnell  to  France, 
5 


ON  AN  IRISH  JAUNTING-CAR 

left  Deny  and  other  vast  possessions  to 
English  confiscation,  over  two  hundred 
thousand  acres  alone  falling  to  the  citizens 
of  London.  The  walls  were  built  in  1609, 
and  still  remain  in  good  condition,  being 
used  as  a  promenade;  the  original  guns 
bristle  from  loop-holes  at  intervals,  and 
"Roaring  Meg"  will  always  have  a  place 
in  history  for  the  loud  crack  she  made 
when  fired  on  the  enemy.  She  sits  at  the 
base  of  Walker's  monument  now,  silent, 
but  still  ugly.  This  monument  is  erected 
on  a  column  ninety  feet  high,  starting  from 
a  bastion  on  the  wall,  and  has  a  statue  of 
Walker  on  its  summit.  One  of  the  earliest 
feats  in  sight-seeing  which  the  writer  ever 
accomplished  was  to  climb  to  its  top,  up 
a  narrow  flight  of  spiral  stairs.  (There 
would  not  be  room  enough  for  him  in  it 
now.) 

James  I.  granted  a  new  charter  of  in- 
corporation to  Derry  in  1613,  and  changed 
the  name  from  Derrycolumcille  to  London- 
derry. James  II.  laid  siege  to  the  town 
in  person  in  1689,  but  failed  to  capture  it. 
It  was  defended  for  one  hundred  and  five 
days  by  its  citizens  under  George  Walker, 
but  two  thousand  of  them  lost  their  lives 
from  wounds  and  starvation.  On  the  28th 
6 


NEW  YORK  TO  LONDONDERRY 

of  July,  the  ships  Mount  joy  and  Phoenix, 
by  gallantly  rushing  in  concert  against 
the  iron  boom  laid  across  the  Foyle,  broke 
it,  and  relieved  the  starving  people  with 
plenty  of  provisions;  and  so  the  siege  was 
ended. 

There  are  seven  gates  in  the  walls  of 
Derry — viz.,  Bishop's  Gate,  Shipquay  Gate, 
Butchers'  Gate,  New  Gate,  Ferryquay 
Gate,  Castle  Gate,  and  the  Northern  Gate, 
a  recent  addition.  Those  favorites  of  for- 
tune who  live  near  New  York  know  that 
George  Washington  had  some  two  hundred 
and  fifty  "headquarters"  and  places  where 
he  "once  stopped,"  in  and  about  that  city, 
and  that  he  sat  in  over  two  thousand  arm- 
chairs in  them — or,  at  least,  that  number 
has  been  sold  with  the  genial  auctioneer's 
guarantee  of  their  authenticity.  It  is  es- 
timated that  it  would  require  a  train  of 
twenty  freight  cars  to  carry  the  chairs, 
desks,  haircloth  sofas,  saddle-bags,  guns, 
and  pistols  that  have  been  sold  as  relics 
from  his  headquarters  at  Madame  Jumel's 
alone,  Harlem  absorbing  seventy-five  per 
cent,  of  this  output.  But  for  all  that, 
King  James  runs  George  a  close  second. 
The  writer  is  only  one  man,  yet  he  has 
slept  in  three  Honduras  mahogany  four- 
7 


ON  AN  IRISH  JAUNTING-CAR 

posters  in  which  James  preceded  him,  has 
eaten  with  many  knives  that  swept  the 
royal  mouth,  and  to-day  owns  a  bone- 
handled  razor  that  is  said  to  have  scraped 
the  face  of  royalty;  and  yet,  after  all,  he 
is  only  comparatively  happy! 


LONDONDERRY   TO   PORT   SALON 

WE  leave  Deny  with  regret,  and  take  the 
train  for  Fahan.  This  brings  us  to  the 
shore  of  Lough  Swilly,  where  we  embark 
on  a  ferry-boat  and  cross  the  lough  to  Rath- 
mullen.  While  crossing  I  saw  Buncrana, 
a  short  distance  down  the  lough.  This  is 
a  pretty  village  containing  the  castle  of 
the  O'Dochertys,  now  in  ruins,  and  near 
it  the  castle  erected  by  Sir  John  Vaughan 
at  a  later  period.  Half  a  century  ago  the 
latter  became  dilapidated,  but  it  was  re- 
stored and  has  ever  since  been  rented  "for 
the  season/'  as  an  investment  by  the  owner. 
One  of  my  pleasantest  recollections  is  the 
week's-end  visit  I  made  many  years  ago 
to  its  then  tenant.  It  had  fine,  terraced 
gardens,  its  outer  walls  were  skirted  by  a 
trout  and  salmon  river,  and  there  was  a 
vast  court-yard  behind  it  with  cell-stalls 
for  the  cavalry  horses,  and  even  a  gallows 
on  which  to  hang  captured  invaders — and 
many  of  them  were  hanged  on  this  same 
9 


ON  AN  IRISH  JAUNTING-CAR 

gallows.  It  was  not  a  pleasant  outlook 
from  one's  bedchamber  window,  but  then 
the  victims  had  been  a  long  time  dead,  and 
no  trouble  came  from  their  ghosts. 

We  soon  arrived  at  Rathmullen,  a  his- 
toric spot  where  many  things  happened  in 
the  days  of  yore.  It  occupies  a  sheltered 
position  at  the  foot  of  a  range  of  hills  that 
intervene  between  Lough  Swilly  and  Mul- 
roy  Bay,  of  which  the  highest  point  is 
Crochanaffrin,  one  thousand  one  hundred 
and  thirty-seven  feet.  It  is  worth  while 
to  make  an  excursion  either  up  this  hill 
or  Croaghan,  one  thousand  and  ten  feet, 
which  is  nearer;  for  the  extraordinary 
view  over  the  inlets  and  indentations  of 
this  singular  coast  will  put  the  traveller 
more  in  mind  of  Norwegian  fiords  than 
British  scenery.  Close  to  it  are  the 
ivy -clad  ruins  of  a  priory  of  Carmelite 
friars,  consisting  of  two  distinct  build- 
ings erected  at  an  interval  of  nearly  two 
centuries.  The  eastern  portion,  of  which 
the  tower  and  chancel  remain,  was  con- 
structed by  the  McSweenys  in  the  fifteenth 
century.  It  exhibits  considerable  traces 
of  pointed  Gothic  architecture.  Over  the 
eastern  window  there  still  remains  a  figure 
of  St.  Patrick.  The  architecture  of  the 
10 


LONDONDERRY  TO  PORT  SALON 

remainder  of  the  building  is  of  the  Eliza- 
bethan age,  a  great  part  of  it  having  been 
rebuilt  by  Bishop  Knox,  of  the  diocese  of 
Raphoe,  in  1618,  on  obtaining  possession 
of  the  manor  of  Rathmullen  from  Turlogh 
Oge  McSweeny.  The  Annals  of  the  Four 
Masters  (to  which  we  will  refer  later), 
states  that  in  1595  it  was  plundered  by 
George  Bingham,  son  of  the  Governor  of 
Connaught.  McSweeny's  castle  is  sup- 
posed to  have  stood  west  of  the  priory, 
but  it  was  destroyed  in  1516.  It  was  from 
here  that  the  young  Hugh  O'Donnell  was 
carried  off  in  1587,  and  kept  a  prisoner  in 
Dublin  until  he  made  his  romantic  escape 
in  1591.  In  1607,  the  Earls  of  Tyrone  and 
Tyrconnell  took  their  "flight"  from  Rath- 
mullen in  a  small  vessel.  "The  entire 
number  on  board  was  ninety-nine,  having 
little  sea-store,  and  being  otherwise  miser- 
ably accommodated/'  After  a  hazardous 
voyage  of  three  weeks,  they  landed  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Seine. 

There  is  a  monument  in  the  churchyard 
to  the  memory  of  the  Hon.  William  H. 
Packenham,  captain  of  the  British  man-of- 
war  Saldanha,  wrecked  on  Swilly  Rock 
in  1811.  Every  soul  on  board  was  lost; 
the  only  living  thing  that  reached  the 
ii 


ON  AN  IRISH  JAUNTING-CAR 

land  was  the  captain's  gray  parrot,  which 
the  wind  carried  in  safety  to  the  rocky 
shore. 

Here,  too,  Wolfe  Tone  was  taken  prisoner 
on  board  the  French  frigate  Hoche,  in  1798. 
Tone  was  a  talented  young  Irishman,  and 
pleaded  the  Irish  cause  so  eloquently  in 
Paris  that  a  fleet  of  forty -three  ships,  with 
fifteen  thousand  men,  was  sent  to  Ireland 
in  1796,  Hoche  commanding.  A  tremen- 
dous storm  scattered  the  fleet  on  the  Irish 
coast,  and  the  ships  returned  to  France 
in  broken  order.  Nothing  daunted,  Tone 
again  persuaded  the  French  to  give  him  a 
trial  with  a  new  fleet.  They  gave  it,  but 
this  expedition  wras  even  more  unfortunate 
than  the  first  one,  and  the  end  of  Tone's 
tragic  career  dated  from  his  arrest  on  the 
shores  of  Lough  Swilly. 

A  few  miles  above,  Lough  Swilly  divides 
into  two  forks,  one  running  up  to  Letter- 
kenny  and  the  other  to  Ramelton,  a  little 
town  located  at  the  point  where  the  river 
Lennon  meets  the  tidal  salt  water.  This 
interesting  place  is  celebrated  for  the  fine 
views  it  affords  and  for  its  salmon  and 
trout  fishing.  I  was  exceedingly  anxious 
to  visit  it,  but  time  would  not  permit  the 
shortest  deviation  from  our  rigid  itinerary, 
12 


. 


LONDONDERRY  TO  PORT  SALON 

as  we  had  purchased  a  state-room  on  the 
Etruria,  sailing  from  Queenstown  on 
July  28th. 

It  was  at  Rathmullen  that  we  hired  our 
first  jaunting-car;  and  it  might  here  be 
said  that  of  all  the  vehicles  ever  invented 
the  modern  Irish  jaunting-car  holds  first 
place  for  the  use  of  the  traveller ;  it  is  unique 
and  there  is  nothing  that  can  take  its  place 
for  an  easy  and  comfortable  lounging  ride, 
when  balanced  by  two  passengers  and  a 
driver.  It  is  now  improved  with  a  circular 
back  and  rubber  tires,  while  the  very  latest 
has  a  driver's  seat  behind,  like  a  hansom 
cab.  We  can  speak  truthfully  of  the  jaunt- 
ing-car, after  having  tested  its  qualities 
for  three  hundred  and  fifty  miles  on  this 
trip;  but  would  add  that  care  is  requisite 
in  arranging  for  and  selecting  a  car,  as 
many  of  them  are  old  and  worn  out. 


PORT  SALON  TO  DUNFANAGHY 

LEAVING  Rathmullen,  John,  our  driver, 
took  us  a  short  cut  over  the  Glenalla  Moun- 
tains to  Port  Salon,  through  Mr.  Hart's 
demesne  of  fine  timber.  As  we  drove  along, 
our  interest  was  excited  by  the  masses  of 
furze  to  be  seen  on  all  sides.  This  shrub 
grows  about  five  feet  high  and  is  thickly 
covered  with  sharp,  dark -green  prickles 
and  innumerable  flowers  of  the  brightest 
yellow  known  to  botanists.  Its  popular 
name  is  "whin,"  and  it  is  extensively 
used  as  food  for  their  horses  by  the  farm- 
ers, who  pound  the  prickles  into  pulp  in 
a  stone  trough,  and  when  so  prepared  the 
horses  eat  them  with  great  relish.  "  Whins  " 
grow  all  over  the  north  of  Ireland  in  wild 
profusion,  and  the  startling  blaze  of  their 
bright  yellow  bloom  may  be  seen  for  miles ; 
to  those  not  accustomed  to  their  beauty 
they  are  a  most  interesting  novelty. 

After  driving  about  twelve  miles  through 
this  kind  of  country,  we  arrived  at  Colonel 
14 


PORT  SALON  TO  DUNFANAGHY 

Barton's  handsome  hotel  on  the  bluffs 
of  Lough  Swilly,  at  the  point  where  it 
opens  into  the  Atlantic.  I  can  hardly 
describe  the  beauty  of  this  spot — its  hard, 
yellow  strand,  its  savage  mountains  cov- 
ered with  blooming  heather,  its  sapphire 
sea  in  strong  contrast  to  the  deep,  rich 
green  pines.  The  Atlantic  was  booming 
into  the  numerous  caves  that  line  both 
sides  of  the  lough,  and  so  seductive  was 
the  influence  of  this  sound  that  at  our 
first  view  we  lay  down,  tired  and  happy, 
in  the  deep  heather,  and  fell  asleep  for 
an  hour,  undisturbed  by  fly,  mosquito,  or 
gnat.  A  British  iron-clad  was  anchored 
a  little  above,  which  gave  a  note  of  dis- 
tinction to  the  charming  scene;  we  were 
told  it  was  the  celebrated  Camperdoum, 
that  did  the  ramming  in  the  Mediterranean 
disaster. 

We  stayed  overnight,  and  made  an  ex- 
cursion next  morning  to  the  "Seven 
Arches."  This  is  a  short  and  interesting 
trip,  about  a  mile  and  a  half  north  of  the 
hotel.  Here  is  a  series  of  fine  caverns 
scooped  out  of  the  limestone  rock  by  the 
action  of  the  waves,  which  can  be  easily 
reached  by  land,  but  the  approach  by  water 
is  grander  and  more  imposing.  From  the 
15 


ON  AN  IRISH  JAUNTING-CAR 

strand  where  the  boat  deposits  the  visitor, 
a  cave  with  a  narrow  entrance  runs  one 
hundred  and  thirty  feet  inland,  and  be- 
yond this  are  the  "  Seven  Arches,"  one 
of  which,  forming  a  grand  entrance  from 
the  sea,  one  hundred  yards  long,  divides 
into  two.  Beyond  the  left  -  hand  cave  is 
another,  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet  long. 
The  right-hand  cave  is  again  divided  into 
four  beautiful  caverns,  through  any  one 
of  which  a  passage  may  be  made  to  the 
bowlder  strand,  whence  another  arch  leads 
towards  the  north. 

We  left  Colonel  Barton's  and  drove  along 
the  coast  for  a  few  miles  to  Doaghbeg, 
where  we  stopped  to  admire  a  magnif- 
icent sea-arch  called  "  Brown  George/'  the 
most  remarkable  natural  feature,  perhaps, 
on  the  whole  coast  of  Lough  Swilly. 
Doaghbeg  is  a  very  primitive,  native  village 
and  is  the  capital  of  the  district  called 
Fanet  (sometimes  Fanad).  This  was  the 
birthplace  of  the  Honorable  P.  C.  Boyle, 
who  has  made  his  mark  in  Pennsylvania. 
Further  driving  brought  us  to  Fanet  Head, 
one  of  the  most  northerly  points  in  Ireland, 
on  which  is  erected  a  large  light-house, 
one  hundred  and  twenty-seven  feet  above 
high-water.  This  has  a  group  of  occulting 
16 


PORT  SALON  TO  DUNFANAGHY 

lights  showing  white  to  seaward  and  red 
towards  land.  After  inspecting  the  light- 
house, we  took  our  last  look  at  Lough  Swil- 
ly,  that  lake  of  shadows  with  its  marvel- 
lous scenic  splendor,  almost  unrivalled  also 
as  a  safe  and  deep  harbor.  I  have  seen  the 
British  fleet  manoeuvered  in  its  confines, 
and  it  could  easily  anchor  every  man-of- 
war  in  commission  to-day,  giving  them 
all  enough  cable  to  swing  clear  of  one  an- 
other on  the  tide. 

We  coasted  the  Atlantic  for  a  few  miles, 
and  then  turned  into  the  hills  that  sur- 
round Mulroy  Bay,  which  soon  came  into 
sight.  When  we  reached  the  shore  a  coun- 
cil of  war  was  held,  and  it  was  decided  to 
save  some  twenty  miles  of  driving  up  round 
the  head  of  the  bay,  by  crossing,  if  possible, 
at  the  lower  end;  so  a  broad,  heavy,  but 
unseaworthy  boat  was  chartered,  and  we 
took  Bob,  the  horse,  out  of  the  car  and 
rolled  the  latter  into  the  stern  of  our  marine 
transport.  It  was  no  easy  task  to  get 
Bob  to  face  the  water ;  however,  after  beat- 
ing about  the  bush  for  half  an  hour,  he 
suddenly  grew  tractable,  and  we  pushed 
him  into  the  boat  by  main  strength.  The 
passage  was  ludicrous  in  the  extreme;  at 
every  high  wave  Bob  would  lash  out  his 
17 


ON  AN  IRISH  JAUNTING-CAR 

heels  and  prance.  The  captain  of  the 
boat  (who,  by  the  way,  was  an  Irish- 
woman) would  berate  John  for  owning 
a  horse  "whose  timper  was  so  bad  that 
he  might  plounge  us  all  into  etarnity  with- 
out a  minit's  notice!"  John  kept  whis- 
pering in  a  loud  voice  into  his  horse's  ear 
promises  of  oats,  turnips,  and  a  bran-mash 
by  way  of  dessert,  if  he  would  only  behave 
himself.  The  tide  was  running  strong, 
and  when  we  were  swept  past  our  landing 
we  each  became  captain  in  turn  without 
appointment,  and  a  variety  of  language 
was  indulged  in  that  would  have  made 
the  Tower  of  Babel  seem  like  a  Quaker 
meeting.  The  farce  was  suddenly  ended 
by  Bob's  breaking  loose  from  his  owner 
and  jumping  ashore  like  a  chamois.  We 
then  ran  the  boat  aground,  took  out  the 
car,  and,  after  capturing  Bob  with  the 
promised  oats,  were  soon  on  our  way 
again. 

In  a  short  time  after  again  starting,  we 
ascended  a  hill  and  could  clearly  see  the 
spot  where  Lord  Leitrim  was  assassinated 
in  April,  1878.  It  lay  up  the  bay  in  a 
clump  of  woods,  close  to  the  water.  Lord 
Leitrim  had  been  very  harsh  with  his 
tenants  and  had  evicted  large  numbers  of 
18 


PORT  SALON  TO  DUNFANAGHY 

them  from  their  farms;  they  therefore  de- 
termined to  "remove"  him,  and  a  select 
band  of  them  lay  in  ambush  along  the  road 
and  succeeded  in  killing  his  lordship,  his 
driver,  and  his  secretary  while  they  were 
driving  to  Derry.  There  were  many  trials 
in  court,  but  those  arrested  could  never  be 
convicted.  As  a  boy  I  have  been  more 
than  once  startled  by  the  appearance  of 
a  pair  of  cars  with  eight  men  on  them, 
each  having  a  couple  of  double-barreled 
shotguns.  Lord  Leitrim  was  one  of  them; 
the  others  were  his  guards,  going  to  Milf  ord 
to  collect  the  rents.  His  temper  was  so 
violent  that  the  government  removed  him 
from  the  office  of  magistrate.  His  son, 
the  late  Earl,  was  a  very  different  kind 
of  man ;  he  did  everything  within  his  power 
to  advance  his  tenants'  interests.  After 
his  death,  a  few  years  ago,  the  tenantry 
erected  a  fine  monument  to  his  memory  in 
Carrigart  Square.  We  later  read  the  in- 
scription upon  it,  which  was,  "He  loved 
his  people." 

After  a  pleasant  drive  we  reached  Carri- 
gart and  had  a  good  lunch  there;  we  tried 
the  Carrigart  "perfectos"  afterwards,  and 
their  memory  clings  to  us  still!  We  then 
started  for  the  Rosapenna  Hotel,  which 
19 


ON  AN  IRISH  JAUNTING-CAR 

was  not  far  distant — less  than  two  miles. 
This  hotel  was  built  of  wood,  after  the 
Scandinavian  fashion,  by  the  trustees  of 
the  late  Earl  of  Leitrim,  and  opened  in 
1893.  It  was  designed  in  Stockholm, 
whence  the  timber  was  shipped  to  Mulroy. 
It  stands  at  the  base  of  Ganiamore  Moun- 
tain, on  the  narrow  neck  of  the  Rossgull 
peninsula,  between  Mulroy  Bay  and  Sheep- 
haven.  Fine  golf  links  have  been  laid  out 
with  eighteen  holes,  the  circuit  being  three 
miles  and  a  half.  For  visitors  there  is 
excellent  fishing  in  the  adjacent  waters, 
by  permission  of  the  Countess  of  Leitrim, 
and  good  bathing  on  the  strands  of  Sheep- 
haven,  which  afford  a  smooth  promenade 
of  six  miles.  From  the  top  of  Ganiamore 
a  good  view  is  obtained  of  the  coast  from 
Horn  Head  round  to  Inishowen  peninsula, 
and  from  its  hills  a  fine  sweep  inland  to 
Errigal  Mountain.  At  Downing's  Bay 
there  is  one  of  the  finest  views  in  Donegal, 
looking  up  and  down  Sheephaven,  the 
woods  of  Ards  and  the  tower  of  Doe  Castle 
backed  up  in  the  distance  by  the  ponderous 
mass  of  Muckish.  Within  a  short  distance 
of  the  hotel  are  three  caves  which  can  be 
entered,  one  from  the  brow  of  the  hill  and 
the  others  at  low  water.  Near  it  also  is 
20 


PORT  SALON  TO  DUNFANAGHY 

Mulroy  House,  the  residence  of  the  Count- 
ess of  Lei  trim. 

From  Rosapenna  we  drove  to  Doe  Castle, 
built  on  the  shores  of  Sheephaven.  This 
was  a  stronghold  of  the  McSweenys,  which 
has  been,  to  a  certain  extent,  modernized 
and  rendered  habitable  by  a  late  owner, 
who  in  doing  so  pulled  down  some  of  the 
walls.  It  consists  of  a  lofty  keep  with 
massive  walls,  which  enclose  passages  and 
stone  stairs.  It  is  surrounded  by  a 
"bawn,"  or  castle-yard,  defended  by  a 
high  wall,  with  round  towers  at  intervals. 
The  rock  on  which  it  stands  is  not  very 
high,  but  from  its  almost  insulated  posi- 
tion it  was  difficult  to  approach.  It  was 
garrisoned  by  Captain  Vaughan  for  Queen 
Elizabeth,  but  was  betrayed  to  the  fol- 
lowers of  Sir  Cahir  O'Doherty.  It  was 
besieged  in  1608,  and  Davis  says:  "Be- 
ing the  strongest  in  Tyrconnell,  it  endured 
one  hundred  blows  of  the  demi-cannon  be- 
fore it  surrendered." 

A  little  to  the  north,  but  separated  by  a 
prolongation  of  the  marsh  at  the  head  of 
Sheephaven,  is  Ards  House,  owned  by 
Alexander  J.  R.  Stewart.  This  demesne 
is  fenced  with  a  cut -stone  wall  which  we 
skirted  for  many  miles.  It  is  a  great  show 

21 


ON  AN  IRISH  JAUNTING-CAR 

place,  with  its  extensive  mansion,  fine 
gardens,  and  beautiful  woods,  fronting  on 
the  bay  where  the  Lackagh  River  runs  into 
it.  We  drew  rein  on  the  Lackagh  bridge 
to  see  Mr.  Stewart's  men  draw  a  net  with 
eight  hundred  pounds  of  salmon  in  it; 
there  were  about  eighty  in  the  haul.  Will- 
iam Wray,  the  old  master  of  Ards  in  the 
eighteenth  century,  had  a  strange  history. 
He  lived  here  in  luxurious  state  and  "dis- 
pensed hospitality  with  true  regal  splen- 
dor." His  ambition,  indeed,  appeared  to  be 
to  see  daily  as  much  eaten  as  possible; 
and  to  facilitate  the  arrival  of  guests,  he 
engineered  a  road  over  Salt  Mountain. 
Extravagance,  however,  at  last  told  its 
tale,  and  the  old  man,  broken  down,  went 
over  to  France,  where  he  died,  "poor,  un- 
friended, and  forgotten/' 

After  crossing  the  bridge,  we  took  up 
the  road  to  Creeslough,  where  Balfour  is 
building  a  narrow-gauge  railroad  for  the 
purpose  of  giving  employment  to  the  poor ; 
and  by  driving  till  quite  late  we  reached 
Dunfanaghy.  "A  great  day's  work,"  as 
John  put  it,  while  cracking  his  whip  during 
the  last  half  mile. 


DUNFANAGHY  TO  FALLCARRAGH 

WE  put  up  at  the  Stewart  Arms,  and 
next  morning  when  we  looked  over  the 
town  we  came  to  the  conclusion  that  Paris 
had  nothing  to  fear  from  Dunfanaghy. 
It  hasn't  even  a  Moulin  Rouge  to  boast  of, 
but  it's  a  first-class  place  to  sleep  in  when 
you're  worn  out  on  the  road,  as  we  were. 
We  engaged  a  large  boat  with  four  men 
to  row  us  out  into  the  Atlantic  to  see  the 
famous  Horn  Head  from  the  sea.  The 
sight  has  really  no  equal  anywhere.  The 
wrriter,  having  seen  it  many  times  since 
boyhood,  is  more  impressed  with  it  on  each 
occasion,  and  this  last  time  it  seemed  more 
entrancing  than  ever.  Horn  Head  is  a 
range  of  beetling  mountains  projecting 
into  the  Atlantic,  and  covers  in  extent  some 
ten  miles.  The  crags  and  horns  are  six 
hundred  and  twenty-six  feet  high,  and  are 
of  all  the  colors  of  the  rainbow,  from  deep- 
est black  to  red,  yellow,  gray,  purple,  and 
green.  The  formation  is  vast  galleries  or 
23 


ON  AN  IRISH  JAUNTING-CAR 

amphitheatres,  broken  by  the  nature  of 
the  rock  into  rectangular  shelves,  on  which 
perch  myriads  of  birds,  which  are  as  the 
sands  of  the  sea  for  multitude.  Some  of 
these  birds  migrate  from  Norway,  lay  one 
egg,  and  when  the  young  are  able  they 
return  home,  only  to  come  back  again 
each  succeeding  summer.  There  are 
many  varieties  of  them,  in  part  consisting 
of  guillemots,  sheldrakes,  cormorants,  the 
shag,  the  gannet,  the  stormy  petrel,  the 
speckled  diver,  and  the  sea-parrot.  One 
variety  will  fly  with  greater  ease  under  a 
boat  when  pursuing  fish  than  it  can  in  the 
air,  and  in  the  clear  water  they  may  be 
seen  at  great  depths,  using  their  wings  in 
this  way.  They  have  seen  but  few  men, 
and  do  not  rise  when  approached.  Their 
cawing  and  cries  are  fearful  and  awe-in- 
spiring, owing  to  the  vast  numbers  of  birds 
that  are  always  in  the  air  or  on  the  rocks. 
The  whole  panorama  as  seen  from  the 
boat  is  something  the  beholder  will  re- 
member as  long  as  he  lives. 

We  also  saw  many  seals  close  to  the 
boat;  these  live  on  salmon.  Mr.  Stewart 
used  to  pay  a  crown  each  for  their  scalps, 
but  since  retiring  he  has  withdrawn  the 
bonus  and  they  are  now  increasing  in 
24 


TKMl'LK    ARCH.    HORN     1 1  KM).    COl'NTY    DONEGAL 


DUNFANAGHY  TO  FALLCARRAGH 

numbers.  The  sea  is  very  lumpy  at  the 
head,  owing  to  the  squalls  that  blow  down 
over  the  cliffs ;  we  encountered  half  a  dozen, 
and  any  one  of  them  would  have  put  a 
sailboat  out  of  commission  in  a  few  minutes. 
They  keep  a  great  ground-swell  in  constant 
motion,  and  the  boat  rose  and  fell  on  these 
waves  like  a  cork  in  a  whirlpool.  When 
rowing  home  we  passed  a  salmon  net  at 
a  jutting  point,  with  one  end  of  its  rope 
fastened  to  the  rocks.  We  asked  why  had 
such  a  place  been  selected  when  there  were 
so  many  others  easier  to  get  at,  and  the 
man  replied:  "Salmon  are  queer  fish; 
they  have  a  path  round  the  headlands 
when  going  to  the  spawning  -  grounds, 
and  never  leave  it.  If  that  net  were  moved 
out  fifty  yards  it  would  never  catch  a 
salmon."  Two  men  were  perched  on  a 
small  ledge  close  to  the  water,  watching 
the  net  against  seals,  as  the  latter  will 
tear  the  fish  out  of  the  nets  with  the  ferocity 
of  a  tiger.  These  men  had  six  hundred 
feet  of  sheer  rock  above  them,  and  we 
asked  how  they  ever  got  down  or  up  again. 
"Oh,  they're  used  to  it;  they've  been  at  it 
since  they  were  boys,  and  they  can  scale 
the  rocks  like  monkeys." 
We  again  slept  at  the  Stewart  Arms, 
25 


ON  AN  IRISH  JAUNTING-CAR 

and  we  felt  so  much  impressed  by  what  we 
had  seen  from  the  sea  that  we  determined 
to  go  on  the  head  itself  and  view  the  sur- 
roundings; so  next  morning  we  started 
on  the  car  and  were  soon  driving  over  the 
long  stone  bridge  with  its  many  arches. 
On  the  way  over  the  bridge  we  passed 
Horn  Head  House,  the  residence  of  C. 
F.  Stewart,  a  property  that  has  been  in 
the  possession  of  the  present  family  since 
a  Stewart  raised  men  to  fight  for  King 
James  against  the  O'Neills,  in  the  Irish 
wars.  The  road  winds  up  between  vast 
sand-hills,  the  sand  being  of  a  remarkable 
orange  color,  fading  into  pink  in  the  dis- 
tance, while  large  tufts  of  rich,  deep  green 
bent-grass  are  dotted  over  its  surface,  mak- 
ing such  an  unusually  striking  contrast 
that  we  stopped  the  car  for  full  five  min- 
utes to  admire  it.  These  hills  are  alive 
with  rabbits ;  they  scampered  off  in  all  di- 
rections at  our  approach  and  quickly  dis- 
appeared into  their  holes. 

One  mile  to  the  west  in  a  direct  line  is 
"McSwine's  Gun,"  concerning  which  mar- 
vellous fables  are  told.  The  coast  here 
is  very  precipitous  and  perforated  with 
caverns,  one  of  which,  running  in  for  some 
distance,  is  connected  with  the  surface 
26 


DUNFANAGHY  TO  FALLCARRAGH 

above  by  a  narrow  orifice,  which  is  very 
difficult  to  find  without  a  guide,  or  very 
specific  directions  and  the  close  observance 
of  landmarks.  Through  this,  in  rough 
weather,  the  sea  dashes,  throwing  up  a 
column  of  water  accompanied  by  a  loud 
explosion  or  boom,  which  is  said  to  have 
been  heard  as  far  as  Derry. 

To  the  south  of  the  rocks  lies  the  fine 
stretch  of  Tramore  Strand.  A  little  to  the 
northeast  of  this  spot  is  a  circular  castle. 
Continuing  by  the  shore,  Pollaguill  Bay 
is  reached,  joined  by  cable  writh  Tory  Island. 
As  seen  from  the  land,  the  coast  is  rocky, 
broken,  and  indented,  and  in  about  two 
miles  rises  into  the  precipitous  mass  of 
Horn  Head,  over  six  hundred  feet  high. 
This  headland  somewhat  resembles  in 
shape  a  double  horn,  bordered  on  one 
side  by  the  inlet  of  Sheephaven,  though 
on  the  other  the  coast  trends  away  to  the 
south.  The  cliffs  present  a  magnificent 
spectacle  of  precipitous  descents,  shelving 
masses  of  rock  and  yawning  caverns  lashed 
by  the  furious  waves  of  the  Atlantic.  The 
view  from  the  summit  of  the  head  is  one  of 
boundless  ocean,  broken  only  on  the  north- 
west by  the  islands  of  Inishbeg,  Inishdooey, 
Inishbofin,  and  Tory,  and  on  the  northeast 
27 


ON  AN  IRISH  JAUNTING-CAR 

by  the  different  headlands  of  this  rugged 
coast  —  i.  e.,  Melmore,  Rinmore,  Fanet, 
Dunaff,  and  Malin  heads,  while  on  the 
east  is  seen  in  the  distance  the  little  island 
of  Inishtrahull. 

As  we  drove  down  from  the  head,  a 
drizzling  rain  began  to  fall  and  we  were 
glad  to  reach  the  shelter  of  the  hotel  and 
fortify  the  inner  man  by  a  substantial 
dinner. 

At  this  stage  in  our  tour  we  were  quite 
undecided  as  to  our  route.  We  did  not 
like  to  give  up  a  visit  to  Glen  Veigh,  Gartan 
lakes  and  the  "Poisoned  Glen,"  as  these 
are  considered  the  finest  things  of  their 
kind  in  Ireland,  but  finally  decided  that 
a  devour  which  would  cost  us  two  days  of 
driving  would  be  impossible,  owing  to 
pressure  of  time;  so  after  sleeping  another 
night  in  Dunfanaghy,  we  pressed  on  to 
Fallcarragh.  Inasmuch,  however,  as  I 
often  visited  and  fished  in  these  glens  and 
lakes,  I  may  be  pardoned  for  attempting 
to  give  the  reader  a  short  description  of 
their  principal  features. 

Lough  Veigh  lies  to  the  east  of  the  Deny- 

veigh  Mountains,   occupying  the  opening 

to  Glen  Veigh.     It  is  a  long,  narrow  sheet 

of  water ;  on  the  north  side,  and  running 

28 


DUNFANAGHY  TO  FALLCARRAGH 

into  it,  a  rocky,  almost  perpendicular,  wall 
rises  to  over  twelve  hundred  feet,  covered 
with  Alpine  vegetation.  Over  the  top  of 
this  wall  several  large  streams  fall  and 
break  into  cascades  as  they  find  their  way 
to  the  lake  below.  Back  of  this  and  fram- 
ing the  whole,  rises  the  majestic  Dooish, 
the  highest  ridge  in  the  Derryveigh  range, 
standing  two  thousand  one  hundred  and 
forty-seven  feet  above  the  tide.  In  old 
times  I  have  counted  a  dozen  eagles  that 
built  their  nests  on  the  topmost  crags  over- 
hanging the  water,  their  majestic,  circling 
flights  giving  life  and  interest  to  the  scene. 
The  south  side  is  a  steep  hill  on  which 
grow  in  riotous  profusion  the  wild  rose, 
bracken,  creeping  plants,  ferns,  lichen, 
moss,  the  primrose,  the  bluebell,  the  yellow 
gorse,  and  hazel ;  while  in  trees,  it  abounds 
in  the  gray  birch,  mountain  -  ash,  larch, 
yew,  juniper,  white  hawthorn,  and  labur- 
nums with  their  glorious  rain  of  gold — 
a  mass  of  teeming  harmonies  and  con- 
trasts. But  by  far  the  finest  display  is 
its  panoply  of  purple  heather,  which  in 
some  places  reaches  a  height  of  ten  feet; 
nowhere  else  can  such  heather  be  found. 
This  is  the  beauty  spot  of  Ireland;  the 
lower  part  of  the  lake  equals  the  best  bit 
29 


ON  AN  IRISH  JAUNTING-CAR 

of  Killarney,  while  the  upper  reaches  of 
the  glen  surpass  it  in  grandeur ;  it  is  indeed 
the  wildest  mountain  -  pass  in  Ireland.  It 
may  be  described  as,  one  might  say,  a 
salad  of  scenic  loveliness,  made  up  of  count- 
less varieties  of  color,  form,  and  garniture; 
for  I  could  pick  out  parts  of  it  that  re- 
semble spots  I  have  seen  at  the  base  of  the 
Himalaya  Mountains  in  India,  and  others 
where  I  have  noticed  a  similarity  to  some 
places  I  visited  near  the  Hot  Springs  of 
Hakone,  in  Japan.  A  comparison  with 
the  Trosachs  of  Scotland  will  result  in  no 
reflection  on  Glen  Veigh ;  in  fact,  there  is  a 
close  resemblance  between  them,  and  I 
cannot  do  better  than  quote  Sir  Walter 
Scott's  celebrated  description  in  The  Lady 
of  the  Lake,  Sir  Walter,  the  greatest  word 
painter  of  them  all,  the  wizard  of  the  pen, 
the  man  who  could  pick  the  magic  word 
and  almost  paint  a  scene  with  it: 

"  The  western  waves  of  ebbing  day 
Rolled  o'er  the  glen  their  level  way; 
Each  purple  peak,  each  flinty  spire, 
Was  bathed  in  floods  of  living  fire. 
But  not  a  setting  beam  could  glow 
Within  the  dark  ravines  below, 
Where  twined  the  path  in  shadow  hid, 
Round  many  a  rocky  pyramid, 
30 


DUNFANAGHY  TO  FALLCARRAGH 

Shooting  abruptly  from  the  dell 

Its  thunder-splintered  pinnacle ; 

Round  many  an  insulated  mass, 

The  native  bulwarks  of  the  pass. 

The  rocky  summits,  split  and  rent, 

Formed  turret,  dome,  or  battlement 

Or  seemed  fantastically  set 

With  cupola  or  minaret, 

Wild  crests  as  pagod  ever  deck'd, 

Or  mosque  of  Eastern  architect. 

Nor  were  these  earth-born  castles  bare, 

Nor  lacked  they  many  a  banner  fair ; 

For,  from  their  shivered  brows  displayed, 

Far  o'er  the  unfathomable  glade, 

All  twinkling  with  the  dew-drop  sheen, 

The  brier-rose  fell  in  streamers  green; 

And  creeping  shrubs,  of  thousand  dyes, 

Waved  in  the  west  wind's  summer  sighs. 


Boon  nature  scatter'd  free  and  wild, 
Each  plant  or  flower,  the  mountain's  child. 
Here  eglantine  embalm'd  the  air, 
Hawthorn  and  hazel  mingled  there; 
The  primrose  pale  and  violet  flower, 
Found  in  each  clift  a  narrow  bower; 
Foxglove  and  nightshade,  side  by  side, 
Emblems  of  punishment  and  pride, 
Group'd  their  dark  hues  with  every  stain 
The  weather-beaten  crags  retain. 
With  boughs  that  quaked  at  every  breath, 
Gray  birch  and  aspen  wept  beneath; 
Aloft,  the  ash  and  withe  of  oak 
Cast  anchor  in  the  rifted  rock; 

31 


ON  AN  IRISH  JAUNTING-CAR 

And,  higher  yet,  the  pine-tree  hung 
His  shattered  trunk,  and  frequent  flung, 
Where  seem'd  the  cliffs  to  meet  on  high, 
His  boughs  athwart  the  narrow'd  sky. 
Highest  of  all,  where  white  peaks  glanced, 
Where  glist'ning  streamers  waved  and  danced, 
The  wanderer's  eye  could  barely  view 
The  summer  heaven's  delicious  blue ; 
So  wondrous  wild,  the  whole  might  seem 
The  scenery  of  a  fairy  dream." 

The  "Poisoned  Glen"  lies  to  the  south- 
west, and  is  a  startling  contrast  to  Glen 
Veigh.  It  has  no  vegetation  of  any  kind, 
and  is  a  weird,  savage  canon  ending  in 
a  cul-de-sac.  It  looks  uncanny  and  for- 
bidding, and  seems  as  though  it  might  be 
possessed,  giving  the  visitor  a  creepy  feel- 
ing as  he  drives  through  its  gloomy  de- 
files. No  animal  or  bird  is  ever  seen  with- 
in its  confines,  as  its  barren  sides  will  not 
support  life  in  any  form. 

Gartan  Lough  is  seen  a  few  miles  to  the 
south.  It  is  celebrated  for  its  fine  views 
and  its  fishing,  and  as  the  birthplace  of 
St.  Columba,  who  was  born  just  where 
a  ruined  chapel  now  stands  and  which 
was  originally  erected,  it  is  said,  to  mark 
the  spot.  St.  Patrick  made  a  pilgrimage 
to  this  place  in  450  A.D. 
32 


DUNFANAGHY  TO  FALLCARRAGH 

Twenty-three  thousand  acres,  covering 
Lough  and  Glen  Veigh  and  the  Gartan 
lakes,  were  originally  owned  by  the  Mar- 
shall brothers,  one  of  whom,  John,  was 
brother-in-law  to  the  writer.  Owing  to  the 
agricultural  depression  of  the  times,  the 
Marshalls  could  not  collect  their  rents, 
and  rather  than  evict  their  tenants  they 
sold  the  estate  to  Mr.  J.  G.  Adair.  Mr. 
Adair  had  visited  the  place  and  become 
so  enthusiastic  about  it  that  he  not  only 
bought  it  but  built  a  splendid  castle  near 
the  lake  and  constructed  an  imposing 
avenue,  eight  miles  long,  of  which  he  was 
very  proud.  Soon  afterwards  he  stood  for 
a  seat  in  Parliament,  as  a  tenant-right 
candidate.  Notwithstanding  his  politics, 
he  had  troubles  with  the  tenantry,  his 
manager  and  one  of  the  shepherds  being 
killed  in  one  of  the  numerous  affrays  that 
occurred  on  the  property.  Conditions  went 
from  bad  to  worse,  till  at  length  Mr.  Adair 
decided  to  clear  his  estate  of  tenantry  by 
evicting  them.  Upon  this,  such  strenuous 
resistance  and  threats  were  made  that  the 
matter  attracted  public  attention  and  be- 
came a  source  of  anxiety  to  the  British 
government;  so  troops  were  sent  down 
with  tents  and  military  equipments,  and 
3  33 


ON  AN  IRISH  JAUNTING-CAR 

after  a  time  a  general  eviction  took  place. 
The  tenants  had  no  means  of  support,  and 
national  sympathy  went  out  to  them. 
Finally,  the  government  of  Victoria  of- 
fered to  take  all  of  them  out  to  Australia, 
free  of  charge,  and  as  most  of  them  accepted 
the  offer,  this  closed  the  unfortunate  in- 
cident. 

Personally,  Mr.  Adair  was  a  gracious  and 
upright  man,  but  he  contended,  as  a  mat- 
ter of  principle,  that  he  owned  the  land 
and  could  do  as  he  liked  with  it.  This 
was  precisely  the  same  ground  that  Mr. 
Morgan  took  when  being  examined  in 
New  York  recently  on  the  witness  -  stand, 
with  regard  to  his  connection  with  Amer- 
ican trusts. 

Since  Mr.  Adair's  death,  his  wife  has  re- 
sided at  the  castle  a  part  of  each  year,  and 
has  recently  entertained  some  eminent  per- 
sonages there,  as  the  following  item  from 
the  Londonderry  Sentinel  of  September 
1 3th  will  show: 

"  Lord  Kitchener  and  the  distinguished  party 
forming  the  guests  of  Mrs.  Adair  at  Glenveigh  Cas- 
tle have  enjoyed  an  excellent  week's  sport.  Several 
fine  stags  have  been  killed  in  the  deer-forest.  There 
was  a  very  successful  rabbit -shoot  at  Gartan  on 
Wednesday.  On  Thursday,  Lord  Brassey's  famous 

34 


DUNFANAGHY  TO  FALLCARRAGH 

yacht  Sunbeam,  which  has  been  at  Londonderry 
since  Monday,  left  for  Lough  Swilly,  and  yesterday 
the  house-party  embarked  for  a  cruise  round  Horn 
Head.  The  house-party  consisted  of  the  following : 
Lord  Kitchener,  Lord  and  Lady  Brassey,  the  Duch- 
ess of  St.  Albans  and  Lady  Alice  Beauclerk,  Sir 
Donald  Mackenzie  Wallace,  the  official  historian  of 
the  voyage  of  the  Ophir;  Lady  de  ITsle,  Captain 
Arthur  Campbell,  Captain  Butler,  and  the  Duke  and 
Duchess  of  Connaught.  The  departing  guests  were 
conveyed  to  the  Sunbeam  and  to  the  railway  station 
in  Mrs.  Adair's  powerful  motor  car." 


FALLCARRAGH  TO  GWEEDORE 

WE  are  now  on  the  road  to  Fallcarragh, 
seven  miles  distant,  and  we  pass  his  Majes- 
ty's mail,  northbound  from  Letterkenny,  a 
crimson  car  loaded  with  mail-bags  and  lug- 
gage, and  a  driver  wearing  a  bright-yel- 
low sou'wester.  Everything  was  drenched 
and  the  horse  in  a  steaming  lather — truly 
a  novel  sight  for  a  denizen  of  Broadway. 

Fallcarragh  is  the  place  from  which 
you  take  a  boat  to  visit  Tory  Island,  some 
eight  miles  out  in  the  Atlantic.  It  has 
been  called  "the  Sentinel  of  the  Atlantic/' 
and  it  is  well  named,  being  the  first  land 
one  sees  when  nearing  Ireland.  Its  name 
means  "the  island  of  towers,"  and  it  looked 
from  the  deck  of  the  Columbia  as  though 
it  had  been  built  up  by  some  titanic  race 
of  old.  It  did  not  seem  to  us  that  it  could 
be  of  much  value,  but  it  was  considered 
important  enough  to  fight  for  in  the  early 
da37s  "when  giants  were  in  the  land." 
The  Book  of  Ballymote  states  that  it  was 
36 


FALLCARRAGH  TO  GWEEDORE 

possessed  by  the  Fomorians,  a  race  of 
pirates  and  giants  who  inhabited  Ire- 
land twelve  centuries  before  the  Christian 
era.  Their  chief  was  "  Balor  of  the  Mighty 
Blows,"  and  two  of  the  rocks  on  the  east 
coast  of  the  island  are  called  "Balor's 
Castle"  and  "Balor's  Prison."  One  of 
their  number,  named  Conaing,  erected  a 
tower  on  the  island,  as  recorded  in  the 
Book  of  Lecan: 

"  The  Tower  of  the  Island,  the  Island  of  the  Tower, 
The  citadel  of  Conaing,  the  son  of  Foebar." 

It  contains  a  portion  of  a  round  tower, 
built  of  undressed  boulders  of  red  granite. 
It  was  never  more  than  about  forty  feet 
in  height,  is  seventeen  feet  two  inches  in 
diameter,  and  the  walls  at  the  base  are 
four  feet  three  inches  thick;  the  doorway 
is  five  and  a  half  feet  high  and  is  eight 
feet  from  the  ground.  There  are  also 
ruins  of  two  churches  (a  monastery  having 
been  founded  here  by  St.  Columba),  and 
a  peculiar  tau- cross.  On  the  northwest 
end  of  the  island  is  a  fine  light-house,  il- 
lumined by  gas,  and  it  has  also  a  fog-siren 
and  a  group-flashing  light;  it  stands  a 
hundred  and  thirty  feet  above  high-water. 
Near  it  is  the  new  signal  station  of  Lloyd's, 
37 


ON  AN  IRISH  JAUNTING-CAR 

which  is  in  telegraphic  communication  with 
Dunfanaghy.  There  are  a  chapel,  school- 
house,  and  post-office  also  on  the  island. 
The  rock  scenery  of  the  northeast  coast 
is  very  fine  and  characteristic;  the  south- 
west coast  is  low  and  flat,  and  fringed 
with  treacherous  rocks.  It  was  here  that 
the  gunboat  Wasp  was  wrecked  on  the 
22d  of  September,  1884,  and  all  its  crew 
except  six  drowned.  Fishing  is  the  chief 
industry,  and  the  islanders  are  good  fish- 
ermen, pursuing  their  avocation  now  chiefly 
in  Norway  yawls  instead  of  "curraghs." 
The  Congested  Districts  Board  have  aided 
the  inhabitants  by  supplying  these  vessels, 
the  cost  to  be  repaid  by  small  instalments, 
also  in  building  a  curing  station  and  teach- 
ing the  people  how  to  cure  fish.  Quantities 
of  lobsters  and  crabs  are  caught,  and  a 
Sligo  steamer  calls  once  a  week  for  fish. 
There  is  a  lack  of  fuel,  which  has  to  be 
supplied  from  the  main-land.  The  inhabi- 
tants have  paid  no  rents  since  the  loss  of 
the  Wasp,  which  was  sent  to  enforce  pay- 
ment or  evict  the  tenants.  St.  Columba, 
the  patron  saint  of  the  place,  is  reported 
to  have  landed  here  in  a  curragh. 

From  Fallcarragh  you  get  a  fine  view 
of  Muckish,  with  its  twenty-two  hundred 
38 


FALLCARRAGH  TO  GWEEDORE 

feet  of  altitude.  While  not  the  highest 
mountain  in  the  Donegal  highlands,  Muck- 
ish  is  longer  and  of  greater  bulk  than  any 
of  its  rivals,  and  is  also  more  imposing. 
Its  name  in  Irish  means  "a  pig's  back/' 
which  it  very  much  resembles.  Here  is 
Ballyconnell  House,  seat  of  Wybrants 
Olphert,  Esq.,  where  the  "Plan  of  Cam- 
paign" was  originated,  so  well  known  in 
connection  with  the  landlord  and  tenant 
troubles  in  Ireland. 

We  now  took  the  shore -road  through 
a  district  known  as  Cloughaneely,  where 
English  is  rarely  spoken  and  we  had  to 
make  our  way  by  signs,  spending  a  few 
minutes  en  route  at  a  national  school  and 
hearing  them  teach  the  children  both  Irish 
and  English.  Continuing,  we  passed  close 
to  Bloody  Foreland,  a  head  one  thousand 
and  fifty  feet  high,  so  called  because  of 
its  ruddy  color.  Arriving  at  Bunbeg,  we 
stopped  to  feed  the  horse  and  take  some 
lunch  ourselves,  and  then  "made  play" 
for  the  Gweedore  Hotel.  Our  road  took 
us  past  the  spot  where  Inspector  Martin 
was  clubbed  to  death  when  executing  a 
warrant  for  the  arrest  of  the  Rev.  James 
McFadden,  P.  P.,  in  February,  1889,  in 
connection  with  the  Gweedore  evictions. 
39 


GWEEDORE  TO  GLENTIES 

THE  Gweedore  is  a  famous  inn,  built 
over  fifty  years  ago  by  Lord  George  Hill 
on  the  river  Clady ;  it  has  held  its  supremacy 
as  a  centre  for  salmon-fishing  and  grouse- 
shooting  for  half  a  century.  The  guests 
supplied  the  table  so  bountifully  with 
fish  in  the  early  days  that  the  writer  has 
recollections,  as  a  boy,  of  thinking  that 
scales  were  growing  on  his  back  after 
having  been  at  the  hotel  for  a  week.  Many 
celebrities  have  fished  and  shot  there — 
Thackeray,  Dickens,  Lord  Palmerston,  Car- 
lyle,  and  a  host  of  others  have  had  their 
feet  under  its  mahogany  and  have  looked 
out  of  its  windows  at  Errigal,  popularly 
known  as  the  "peerless  cone/'  the  base 
of  which  is  not  over  a  mile  distant.  This 
mountain  rises  to  a  height  of  two  thousand 
four  hundred  and  sixty-six  feet,  scarred 
and  naked  to  its  peak.  Slieve  Snaght, 
two  thousand  two  hundred  and  forty  feet, 
is  another  fine  peak  near  it. 
40 


GWEEDORE   TO    GLENTIES 

The  name  of  Lord  George  Hill,  the  late 
proprietor  of  the  estate,  is  so  thoroughly 
identified  with  that  of  Gweedore  that  it 
will  not  be  amiss  to  retail  a  few  facts  con- 
cerning him.  He  first  settled  in  this  part 
of  the  country  in  1838,  purchasing  twenty- 
three  thousand  acres  in  the  parish  of  Tulla- 
ghobegly,  which  he  found  in  a  state  of 
distress  and  want  so  great  that  it  became 
the  subject  of  a  parliamentary  inquiry. 
Although  there  appeared  to  have  been  a 
considerable  amount  of  exaggeration  in 
the  statements  made,  enough  remained 
to  show  that  famine,  pestilence,  and  igno- 
rance were  lamentably  prevalent.  The 
prospects  of  the  landlord  were  far  from  en- 
couraging, on  account  of  the  stony  nature 
of  the  ground,  the  severity  of  the  climate, 
and  the  difficulty  of  collecting  his  rent; 
but,  more  than  all,  the  extraordinary 
though  miserable  system  of  rundale, 
which  was  universal  throughout  the  dis- 
trict. By  this  arrangement  a  parcel  of 
land  was  divided  and  subdivided  into  an 
incredible  number  of  small  holdings,  in 
which  the  tenant  very  likely  held  his  pro- 
portion or  share  in  thirty  or  forty  different 
places,  which  had  no  fences  or  walls  what- 
ever to  mark  them.  The  utter  confusion 


ON  AN  IRISH  JAUNTING-CAR 

and  the  hopelessness  of  each  tenant's 
being  able  to  know  his  own  land,  much 
less  to  plant  or  look  after  it,  may  well  be 
imagined.  And  not  only  to  land  was  this 
system  applied,  but  also  to  portable  prop- 
erty. With  much  perseverance  and  many 
struggles,  Lord  George  Hill  gradually 
changed  the  face  of  things.  He  overcame 
and  altered  the  rundale  system,  improved 
the  land,  built  schools,  a  church,  and  a 
large  store  at  Bunbeg,  made  roads,  es- 
tablished a  post-office,  and,  what  is  perhaps 
of  more  importance  to  the  traveler,  a  hotel. 
He  took  a  direct  and  personal  interest  in 
the  good  management  of  the  hotel  and 
in  the  comfort  of  the  guests  who  patronized 
it,  frequently  stopping  at  the  house  him- 
self, dining  and  spending  the  evening 
with  them.  Since  his  death,  in  1879,  the 
hotel  has  kept  up  its  traditional  reputation 
for  comfort  and  general  good  management. 
Carlyle  visited  Lord  Hill  at  Gweedore 
in  1849,  and  this  is  the  way  in  which  he 
described  his  host  afterwards:  "A  hand- 
some, grave-smiling  man  of  fifty  or  more; 
thick,  grizzled  hair;  elegant  nose;  low, 
cooing  voice;  military  composure  and  ab- 
sence of  loquacity;  a  man  you  love  at 
first  sight."  This  was  indeed  high  praise 
42 


GWEEDORE   TO    GLENTIES 

from  a  man  of  Carlyle's  cantankerous 
temper.  Lord  Hill  was  so  popular  with 
his  tenantry  that  when  his  horse  broke 
down  they  would  take  the  animal  out  of 
the  shafts,  fasten  ropes  to  the  car,  and 
pull  it  home  triumphantly  with  the  owner 
seated  in  state,  no  matter  how  many  miles 
they  had  to  cover.  He  was  a  most  cour- 
teous and  obliging  man.  I  well  remem- 
ber how,  in  the  early  sixties,  he  walked 
a  considerable  distance  and  took  particular 
pains  to  show  me  the  best  fishing  spots 
on  the  river. 

They  tell  a  joke  at  the  hotel,  on  an  Eng- 
lish dude  who  asked  Pat,  the  gillie,  "  Aw, 
my  good  man,  do  you  mind  telling  me  what 
— aw — sort  of  fish  you  catch  here?"  "  Well, 
to  tell  ye  the  truth,"  was  Pat's  quick  reply, 
"ye  niver  can  tell  till  yez  pulls  'em  out!" 

There  was  a  big  fishing  crowd  there,  and 
when  I  announced  at  dinner  that  it  was 
more  than  forty  years  since  I  had  sat  at 
that  table  and  fished  in  the  river,  they  all 
doffed  their  caps  to  me — metaphorically — 
and  gave  me  more  salmon  and  other  good 
things  than  I  could  eat  or  drink. 

We  hadn't  time  to  fish,  and  so  we  pushed 
on  next  day  through  the  Rosses  district, 
with  all  its  innumerable  fresh-water  lakes 
43 


ON  AN  IRISH  JAUNTING-CAR 

and  salt-water  inlets.  So  intermingled 
were  they  that  it  was  hard  to  decide  which 
was  which,  and  we  finally  got  to  know 
that  where  wrack  grew  on  the  shore  the 
water  was  salt  and  connected  somewhere 
with  the  sea.  We  stopped  at  Dunlow  for 
lunch  and  then  descended  into  the  Gwee- 
barra  River  valley  and  crossed  the  large, 
new  steel  bridge  of  that  name,  erected  by 
the  Congested  Districts  Board  to  give  the 
people  employment  on  that  and  the  roads 
connecting  with  it  at  both  ends.  The 
way  lies  through  an  untamably  wild  coun- 
try, but  with  such  constant  and  shifting 
panorama  of  mountain  scenery  that  the 
attention  is  never  fatigued.  You  see  in 
review  the  Dunlewy  Mountains,  Slieve 
Snaght,  Errigal,  Dooish,  and  the  Derry- 
veigh  chains;  in  fact,  if  the  weather  is 
fine — and  it  all  depends  on  that — there 
is  scarcely  such  another  mountain  view 
in  the  kingdom. 

The  head  of  Gweebarra  Bay,  where  the 
river  joins  it,  is  a  queer  -  looking  place; 
we  skirted  its  shores  for  miles  and  enjoyed 
its  peculiarities.  When  the  tide  is  out  the 
water  is  of  a  seal-brown  color,  due  to  the 
peat ;  when  it  is  in,  the  color  is  bright  green. 
Where  the  tides  meet  is  a  mixture  of  both 
44 


GWEEDORE  TO  GLENTIES 

colors,  and  frequently  some  of  the  shallows, 
side  by  side,  will  be  of  either  brown  or 
green,  making  a  checkered  appearance. 
While  all  this  is  going  on,  water-falls  from 
the  hillsides  pour  their  brown  waters  into 
the  bay  and  very  often  into  pools  of  green. 
This  phenomenon,  in  connection  with  the 
pleasing  picture  formed  by  the  numerous 
small  islands  which  dot  the  surrounding 
waters,  makes  it  well  worth  wThile  to  wait 
and  witness  the  tide  in  its  changing  stages. 
We  finished  our  twenty-five  mile  drive 
in  an  hour  or  so,  and  put  up  for  the  night 
at  O'Donnell's,  Glenties. 


GLENTIES  TO  CARRICK 

IN  some  Irish  hotels  they  set  apart  a  room 
for  the  drummers  to  write  and  eat  in,  at 
lower  prices  than  the  public  tariff,  and 
this  is  as  sacred  ground  as  a  Hindoo  temple  ; 
for  an  ordinary  personage  to  desecrate  it 
by  his  presence  is  simply  an  unpardonable 
crime  and  is  resented  by  the  drummers 
accordingly.  The  doors  are  not  always 
marked,  and  so  it  happened  that  I  inno- 
cently wandered  into  this  "reserved"  room 
in  the  O'Donnell  Hotel  at  Glenties  and 
began  to  write  a  letter.  I  had  hardly  got 
as  far  as  "Dear  Sir,"  when  the  intrusion 
was  noticed  and  promptly  reported  to  the 
proprietor,  who  came  in  and  apologetically 
asked  me,  "What  line  are  ye  in,  sur?" 
to  which  I  promptly  responded,  "Sell- 
ing Power's  Irish  whiskey."  He  reported 
my  vocation  to  "the  committee/'  all  were 
satisfied  and  I  was  allowed  to  finish  my 
letter.  Afterwards  Mr.  O'Donnell  came 
to  me  and  said  with  a  wink:  "It's  all 
46 


GLENTIES  TO    CARRICK 

right,  Mr.  Bayne;  your  bluff  went  through 
with  the  boys,  but  'tis  my  private  opinion 
that  ye're  buyin'  more  whiskey  than  ye're 
sellinV 

Next  morning  when  the  sun  rose  we  were 
off  for  Carrick,  a  scenery  and  ruin  centre, 
the  forts,  etc.,  dating  back  to  the  sixth 
century.  This  was  a  favorite  resort  of 
Sir  Frederick  Leighton,  the  artist,  who 
frequently  spent  his  summers  there.  We 
took  a  noon  rest  at  Ardara  and  then  push- 
ed on  to  complete  our  twenty-eight  miles. 

Before  reaching  Carrick  we  traversed  the 
Glengesh  Pass,  a  deep  and  beautiful  ra- 
vine, "  with  verdure  clad,"  the  hills  on 
both  sides  rising  one  thousand  six  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  above  sea  level,  their  slopes 
ornamented  with  many  water-falls,  all  join- 
ing to  make  up  a  brawling  stream  which 
rushed  headlong  down  the  valley.  Alto- 
gether the  place  was  a  most  charming 
one. 

The  pass  was  four  miles  long,  and  poor 
Bob  could  not  make  it  with  the  load,  so 
we  got  off  and  climbed  the  road  on  foot, 
while  he  fed  and  followed  us  with  the  empty 
car  up  the  steep  incline.  We  nursed  him 
into  Carrick,  but  he  had  to  have  a  rest, 
and  after  getting  it  his  owner  drove  him 
47 


ON  AN  IRISH  JAUNTING-CAR 

home.  And  so  we  parted  with  John,  our 
worthy  Jehu,  and  his  good  nag,  Bob, 
both  of  whom  had  helped  us  well  along 
on  our  pilgrimage. 

As  we  were  approaching  Glengesh,  we 
met  a  young  Donegal  girl  on  the  road. 
She  was  dressed  in  black  serge,  and,  al- 
though her  feet  were  bare,  her  figure  was 
erect  and  her  carriage  very  graceful.  She 
swung  along  the  road  with  charming 
abandon,  and  might  have  shone  at  a  "  draw- 
ing-room" in  Dublin  Castle,  the  embodi- 
ment, the  quintessence  of  unconscious 
grace. 


CARRICK  TO  DONEGAL 

WE  put  up  at  the  Glencolumbkille  Hotel 
in  Carrick.  Here  we  hired  a  new  car,  with 
a  stout,  white  horse  to  draw  it,  which  took 
us  to  the  base  of  Bunglass  Head  and  wait- 
ed for  our  return.  It  is  a  hard  climb  of 
over  three  miles  to  reach  the  summit,  over 
rocks,  bog,  and  heather,  but  we  were  well 
rewarded  for  our  trouble.  Bunglass  fills 
the  role  of  a  grand-stand,  as  it  were,  from 
which  you  get  a  good  view  of  Slieve  League 
Mountain,  whose  base  rises  abruptly  out 
of  the  sea,  which  breaks  against  it  with 
great  violence.  We  had  heard  that  the 
golden  eagle  builds  its  nests  on  this  head- 
land, but  we  did  not  succeed  in  finding  any 
of  the  birds,  and  concluded  that  they  had 
flown  over  to  see  King  Edward's  corona- 
tion. 

A   view   of   singular   magnificence   here 

bursts  upon  you — a  view  that  of  its  kind 

is  probably  unequalled  in  the  British  Isles. 

The  lofty  mountain  of  Slieve  League  gives 

4  49 


ON  AN  IRISH  JAUNTING-CAR 

on  the  land  side  no  promise  of  the  magnif 
icence  that  it  presents  from  the  sea,  being 
in  fact,  a  mural  precipice  of  one  thousand 
nine  hundred  and  seventy -two  feet  in 
height,  descending  to  the  water's  edge  in 
one  superb  escarpment, 

.     .     .     around 
Whose    caverned    base    the    whirlpools    and    the 

waves, 

Bursting  and  eddying  irresistibly, 
Rage  and  resound  forever." 

And  not  only  in  its  height  is  it  so  sublime, 
but  in  the  glorious  colors  which  are  grouped 
in  masses  on  its  face.  Stains  of  metals — 
green,  amber,  gold,  yellow,  white,  red — 
and  every  variety  of  shade  are  observable, 
particularly  when  seen  under  a  bright  sun, 
contrasting  in  a  wonderful  manner  with 
the  dark-blue  waters  beneath.  In  cloudy 
or  stormy  weather  this  peculiarity  is  to  a 
certain  degree  lost,  though  other  effects 
take  its  place  and  render  it  even  more 
magnificent.  This  range  of  sea-cliff  ex- 
tends with  little  variation  all  the  way  to 
Malin,  though  at  nothing  like  the  same 
altitude. 

Having  feasted  our  eyes  on  the  beauties 
of  the  precipices,  we  then  ascended,  skirt- 
50 


CARRICK    TO    DONEGAL 

ing  the  cliffs  the  whole  way.  Near  the 
summit  the  escarpment  cuts  off  the  land 
slope  so  suddenly  as  to  leave  only  a  sharp 
edge  with  a  fearful  precipice  of  above  fif- 
teen hundred  feet  on  the  side  towards  the 
sea,  and  a  steep  slope  on  the  landward 
side.  This  ledge  is  termed  the  "  One  Man's 
Path/'  and  is  looked  on  by  the  inhab- 
itants of  the  neighborhood  in  the  same 
light  as  the  Striding  Edge  of  Helvellyn, 
or  the  Bwlch  -  y  -  Maen  of  Snowdon. 
There  is  a  narrow  track  or  ledge  on  the 
land  slope  a  little  below  this  edge,  face- 
tiously called  "The  Old  Man's  Path"  by 
the  guides.  At  the  very  summit  are  the 
remains  of  the  ancient  oratory  of  St.  Hugh 
McBreacon.  The  view  is  wonderfully  fine; 
southward  is  the  whole  coast  of  Sligo  and 
Mayo,  from  Benbulbin  to  the  Stags  of 
Broadhaven;  while  farther  in  the  dis- 
tance are  faintly  seen  Nephin,  near  Ballina, 
and  Croagh  Patrick  Mountain  at  Westport. 
Northward  is  a  perfect  sea  of  Donegal 
mountains,  reaching  as  far  as  Slieve 
Snaght  and  Errigal,  with  all  the  inter- 
vening ranges  near  Ardara,  Glenties,  and 
Dunloe. 

Coming  down  was  almost  as  bad  as  going 
up  had  been,  but  we  finally  reached  our 


ON  AN  IRISH  JAUNTING-CAR 

car  and  were  driven  home  for  a  late  dinner. 
On  the  way  we  were  shown  the  place  where 
Prince  Charlie  the  Pretender  embarked 
when  he  fled  from  the  English  forces. 


DONEGAL  TO  BALLYSHANNON 

NEXT  morning,  in  a  blinding  rain,  we  got 
up  behind  a  stout,  black  horse,  driven  by 
Charley,  a  conversational  soloist  of  un- 
rivaled garrulity,  who  under  these  con- 
ditions told  us  entirely  too  much  about 
Fin  McCool's  and  Red  Hugh's  feats  and 
what  they  did  to  their  neighbors.  We 
passed  through  Killybegs,  but  our  des- 
tination was  Donegal  (town),  and  after  we 
reached  it  we  discharged  Charley,  took  din- 
ner, and  aired  ourselves  round  the  city,  tak- 
ing what  base-ball  players  call  a  "stretch." 
The  principal  objects  of  interest  here  are 
the  ruined  abbey  and  the  castle  of  the 
O'Donnells.  The  monastery  was  found- 
ed for  Franciscan  friars  in  1474  by  Hugh 
Roe  O'Donnell  and  his  wife,  Fingalla, 
daughter  of  Conor  O'Brien  of  Thomond, 
and  in  it  they  were  both  buried.  His 
son,  Hugh  Oge,  finally  took  the  habit  of 
St.  Francis,  and  was  buried  here  in  1537. 
Red  Hugh  O'Donnell  having  taken  up 
arms  against  the  English,  his  brother- 
53 


ON  AN  IRISH  JAUNTING-CAR 

in-law,  Niall  Garbh,  sided  with  them  and 
took  possession  of  the  monastery.  It  was 
besieged  by  O'Donnell,  and  during  the 
siege  some  barrels  of  gunpowder  which 
had  been  stored  took  fire  and  the  explosion 
destroyed  the  building.  Red  Hugh,  after 
the  fiasco  of  the  Spanish  landing  at  Kin- 
sale,  to  which  he  went,  sailed  to  Spain  for 
further  assistance  and  died  there  at  the 
early  age  of  twenty-eight,  being  buried 
in  Valladolid.  Niall  Garbh,  having  lost 
the  confidence  of  the  English,  was  im- 
prisoned in  the  Tower  of  London,  and  died 
after  eighteen  years  of  captivity.  The 
O'Donnells,  or  Cinel  Conall,  were  descend- 
ed from  Niall  of  the  Nine  Hostages,  who 
became  king  of  Ireland  in  379  A.D.  Of  his 
sons,  Eoghan,  or  Owen,  was  ancestor  of 
the  O'Neills,  and  Conall  Gulban  of  the 
O'Donnells.  The  country  of  the  former 
was  called  Tir  Eoghan  (Tyrone),  or  Owen's 
territory,  and  extended  over  the  eastern 
part  of  Donegal  and  the  counties  of  Tyrone 
and  Londonderry.  The  peninsula  of  Ini- 
showen  also  received  its  name  from  him. 
Tyrconnell,  the  territory  of  Conall,  ex- 
tended over  County  Donegal.  Between 
these  races,  bound  together  as  they  were 
by  common  descent  and  frequent  inter- 
54 


DONEGAL   TO    BALLYSHANNON 

marriages,  wars  were  of  constant  occur- 
rence through  many  generations. 

The  Cathach  of  the  O'Donnells  is  a 
cumhdach,  or  box,  made,  as  its  inscription 
says,  by  Cathbhar  O'Donnell  towards  the 
end  of  the  eleventh  century.  It  contains 
a  portion  of  the  Psalms  in  Latin,  said  to 
have  been  written  by  St.  Columba  and 
which  led  to  the  battle  of  Drumcliff  and 
his  subsequent  exile  to  lona.  It  was  car- 
ried by  a  priest  three  times  in  front  of  the 
troops  of  the  O'Donnells  before  a  contest, 
hence  its  name,  "The  Battler."  The  silver 
case  enclosing  the  box  was  made  by  Col- 
onel O'Donnell  in  1723.  It  was  presented 
by  the  late  Sir  Richard  O'Donnell  to  the 
Royal  Irish  Academy,  where  it  now  is. 

Either  in  the  monastery  or  in  some 
building  near  it  were  compiled,  between 
1632  and  1636,  the  famous  Annals  of 
Donegal,  better  known  under  the  title  of 
the  Annals  of  the  Four  Masters — Michael 
and  Cucogry  O'Clery,  Fearfeasa  O'Mul- 
conry,  and  Cucogry  O'Duigenan.  The  ob- 
ject of  this  compilation  was  to  detail  the 
history  of  Ireland  up  to  the  time  in  which 
they  lived,  including  all  local  events,  such 
as  the  foundation  and  destruction  of 
churches  and  castles,  the  deaths  of  re- 
55 


ON  AN  IRISH  JAUNTING-CAR 

markable  persons,  the  inaugurations  of 
kings,  the  battles  of  chiefs,  the  contests 
of  clans,  etc.  A  book  consisting  of  eleven 
hundred  quarto  pages,  beginning  with  the 
year  2242  B.C.,  and  ending  with  the  year 
1616  A.D.,  thus  covering  the  immense  space 
of  nearly  four  thousand  years  of  a  na- 
tion's history,  must  be  dry  and  meagre  of 
details  in  some,  if  not  in  all,  parts  of  it. 
And  although  the  learned  compilers  had  at 
their  disposal  or  within  their  reach  an  im- 
mense mass  of  historic  details,  still  the  cir- 
cumstances under  which  they  wrote  were  so 
unfavorable  that  they  appear  to  have  exer- 
cised a  sound  discretion  and  one  consistent 
with  the  economy  of  time  and  of  their  re- 
sources when  they  left  the  details  of  the 
very  early  history  of  Ireland  in  the  safe- 
keeping of  such  ancient  original  records  as 
had  from  remote  ages  preserved  them,  and 
collected  as  much  as  they  could  make  room 
for  of  the  events  of  more  modern  times,  par- 
ticularly those  eventful  days  in  which  they 
themselves  lived.  This  interesting  record, 
which  was  originally  written  in  native 
Irish,  has  in  later  times  been  translated 
by  Mr.  Eugene  O'Curry,  who  has  given 
to  the  world  of  general  literature  a  very 
able  translation  of  this  monumental  work. 


BALLYSHANNON  TO  SLIGO 

WITH  a  fresh  horse  we  started  for  Bally- 
shannon,  some  fifteen  miles  ahead  of  us. 
The  surrounding  country  was  interesting 
and  appeared  to  be  prosperous,  contain- 
ing many  fine  seats,  the  great  feature  of 
which  was  their  magnificent  timber.  Bally- 
shannon  seems  a  busy  town,  with  two  thou- 
sand five  hundred  inhabitants.  Its  castle, 
of  which  scarcely  any  traces  remain,  be- 
longs to  the  O'Donnells  and  was  the  scene 
of  a  disastrous  defeat  of  the  English  under 
Sir  Convers  Clifford  in  1597.  The  castle 
was  besieged  with  vigor  for  three  days  and 
an  attempt  made  to  sap  the  walls,  but  the 
garrison  having  made  a  desperate  sally, 
the  English  retreated  in  haste,  and,  pur- 
sued by  Hugh  Roe  O'Donnell,  they  lost  a 
great  portion  of  their  force  in  an  unsuc- 
cessful attempt  to  cross  the  Erne. 

The  two  portions  of  the  town,  the  lower 
one  of  which  is  called  the  Port,  are  con- 
nected by  a  bridge  of  twelve  arches  about 
57 


ON  AN  IRISH  JAUNTING-CAR 

four  hundred  yards  above  the  celebrated 
falls,  where  an  enormous  body  of  water 
is  precipitated  over  a  cliff  some  thirty  feet 
high  and  ten  feet  above  high-water,  with 
a  noise  that  is  perfectly  deafening.  This 
is  the  scene  of  the  "  salmon  -  leap. "  The 
salmon  that  come  down  the  river  in  the 
autumn  return  again  in  the  spring  months, 
and  this  can  only  be  accomplished  by 
ascending  the  falls.  Traps  with  funnel- 
shaped  entrances  are  placed  in  different 
parts  of  the  falls,  in  which  the  salmon  are 
caught,  and  taken  out  for  market  as  re- 
quired. Between  the  traps  are  intervals 
through  which  the  fish  can  reach  the  top 
of  the  falls  by  leaping,  and  as  at  low  water 
the  spring  is  about  sixteen  feet,  the  scene 
is  singularly  interesting.  Below  the  falls 
is  the  island  of  Inis-Saimer,  on  which  are 
buildings  connected  with  the  fishery.  The 
fishery  is  very  valuable,  and  is  owned  by 
Messrs.  Moore  &  Alexander. 

On  the  bridge  is  a  tablet  to  William 
Allingham  (1824-1889),  a  native  of  Bal- 
lyshannon.  I  give  Allingham's  own  de- 
scription of  his  home;  it  can  hardly  be 
surpassed  in  the  English  language  for  sim- 
ple, graceful,  and  yet  direct  diction.  I  also 
quote  a  few  lines  from  a  poem  he  wrote 
58 


BALLYSHANNON  TO  SLIGO 

before  he  sailed  for  America;  they  are  not 
Milton ian  in  their  style,  but  Milton  could 
not  have  touched  the  spot  as  he  did. 

"  The  little  old  town  where  I  was  born  has  a  voice 
of  its  own,  low,  solemn,  persistent,  humming  through 
the  air  day  and  night,  summer  and  winter.  When- 
ever I  think  of  that  town  I  seem  to  hear  the  voice. 
The  river  which  makes  it  rolls  over  rocky  ledges 
into  the  tide.  Before  spreads  a  great  ocean  in 
sunshine  or  storm ;  behind  stretches  a  many-islanded 
lake.  On  the  south  runs  a  wavy  line  of  blue  moun- 
tains; and  on  the  north,  over  green,  rocky  hills, 
rise  peaks  of  a  more  distant  range.  The  trees  hide 
in  glens,  or  cluster  near  the  river ;  gray  rocks  and 
boulders  lie  scattered  about  the  windy  pastures. 
The  sky  arches  wide  over  all,  giving  room  to  multi- 
tudes of  stars  by  night  and  long  processions  of 
clouds  blown  from  the  sea,  but  also,  in  the  childish 
memory  where  these  pictures  live,  to  deeps  of  celestial 
blue  in  the  endless  days  of  summer.  An  odd,  out- 
of-the-way  little  town  ours,  on  the  extreme  western 
verge  of  Europe,  our  next  neighbors,  sunset  way, 
being  citizens  of  the  great  new  republic  which, 
indeed,  to  our  imagination  seemed  little,  if  at  all, 
farther  off  than  England  in  the  opposite  direction." 

"  Adieu  to  Bally  shannon!  where  I  was  bred  and 

born; 
Go  where  I  may,  I'll  think  of  you,  as  sure  as 

night  and  morn ; 
The  kindly  spot,  the  friendly  town,  where  every 

one  is  known, 
And  not  a  face  in  all  the  place  but  partly  seems 

my  own. 

59 


ON  AN  IRISH  JAUNTING-CAR 

There's  not  a  house  or  window,  there's  not  a 

field  or  hill, 
But,  east  or  west,  in  foreign  lands,  I'll  recollect 

them  still. 
I  leave  my  warm  heart  with  you,  tho'  my  back 

I'm  forced  to  turn, 
So  adieu  to  Ballyshannon  and  the  winding  banks 

of  Erne! 

"Farewell,  Coolmore — Bundoran!  and  your  sum- 
mer crowds  that  run 

From  inland  homes  to  see  with  joy  th'  Atlantic 
setting  sun; 

To  breathe  the  buoyant  salted  air,  and  sport 
among  the  waves; 

To  gather  shells  on  sandy  beach  and  tempt  the 
gloomy  caves; 

To  watch  the  flowing,  ebbing  tide,  the  boats,  the 
crabs,  the  fish; 

Young  men  and  maids  to  meet  and  smile,  and 
form  a  tender  wish; 

The  sick  and  old  in  search  of  health,  for  all  things 
have  their  turn — 

And  I  must  quit  my  native  shore  and  the  wind- 
ing banks  of  Erne!" 

Near  here  are  the  ruins  of  Kilbarron 
Castle,  an  ancient  fortress  of  the  O'Clerys, 
a  family  renowned  in  their  day  for  their 
skill  in  science,  poetry,  and  history,  of 
whom  was  Father  Michael  O'Clery,  the 
leader  of  the  illustrious  quartet  of  the 
"  Four  Masters."  It  stands  on  a  pre- 
60 


BALLYSHANNON  TO   SLIGO 

cipitous  rock  at  the  very  edge  of  the 
coast. 

In  the  vicinity  of  Ballyshannon  can 
be  seen  Ballymacward  Castle,  which  was 
built  during  the  famine  of  1739.  This 
was  the  home  of  the  "Colleen  Bawn," 
famous  in  song  and  story,  who  was  one 
of  the  Ffolliott  girls,  and  eloped  with  Willy 
Reilly. 

Now  we  are  on  the  road  to  Bundoran, 
and  we  had  hardly  cleared  the  skirts  of 
Ballyshannon  before  it  began  to  rain  so 
hard  that  even  had  old  Noah  been  with 
us  he  could  not  have  bragged  much  about 
the  Flood.  It  came  in  at  our  collars  and 
went  out  at  our  boots.  Our  new  driver 
could  not  be  induced  to  say  a  single  word 
except  yes  or  no;  he  was  neither  a  his- 
torian, a  botanist,  nor  a  geologist,  and  he 
took  no  interest  whatever  in  ruins;  but 
we  forgave  him  for  all  these  shortcomings, 
for  he  drove  his  horse  steadily  onward 
through  the  torrent  with  an  unswerving 
perseverance  that  covered  a  multitude  of 
sins.  When  we  arrived  at  Bundoran's 
fashionable  watering  -  place  hotel,  The 
Irish  Highlands,  the  guests  received  us 
with  shouts  of  laughter,  in  which  we  good- 
humoredly  joined.  No  more  weary  pilgrims 
61 


ON  AN   IRISH  JAUNTING-CAR 

ever  drew  rein  at  inn  in  such  a  sorry 
plight. 

Our  clothes  were  dried  during  the  night, 
and  with  a  new  steed  we  started  for  Sligo. 
It  was  clear  weather  and  we  had  a  pleas- 
ant ride  along  the  coast-line.  The  feature 
of  the  day  was  skirting  the  base  of  Ben- 
bulbin  for  about  seven  miles.  This  is  a 
most  peculiar  mountain,  almost  eighteen 
hundred  feet  high.  Its  base  starts  in  with 
patches  of  yellow  and  sage-green  verdure, 
then  turns  to  streams  of  broken  rocks. 
From  these,  regular  pillars  of  stone  start 
like  the  pipes  of  an  organ,  which  can  be 
seen  for  fifty  miles,  these  again  being  cov- 
ered by  a  flat  crown  of  green  growth.  The 
whole  looks  like  a  vast  temple  in  India. 
A  large  water-fall,  consisting  of  three  sep- 
arate cascades,  cuts  its  side  and  adds 
greatly  to  its  beauty  and  attractiveness. 

We  passed  through  the  village  of  Drum- 
cliff,  situated  on  the  bank  of  the  river  of 
the  same  name  which  here  enters  Drum- 
cliff  Bay  from  Glencar  Lake.  A  mon- 
astery was  founded  here  by  St.  Columba, 
the  site  for  which  was  given  in  575,  and 
it  was  made  into  a  bishop's  see,  after- 
wards united  to  Elphin.  This  village 
was  anciently  called  "Drumcliff  of  the 
62 


BALLYSHANNON   TO   SLIGO 

Crosses/'  and  of  the  remains  of  these  the 
"Great  Cross"  is  a  fine  example.  It  is 
thirteen  feet  high  and  three  feet  eight 
inches  across  the  arms,  which  are  con- 
nected by  the  usual  circular  segments. 
It  is  of  hard  sandstone  and  consists  of 
three  sections,  the  base,  shaft,  and  top. 
It  is  highly  sculptured,  showing  human 
figures,  animals,  and  fine,  interlaced  scroll- 
work. There  is  also  the  stump  of  a  round 
tower,  about  forty  feet  high,  of  rude  ma- 
sonry of  the  earliest  group.  The  door 
is  square-headed,  six  feet  from  the  ground, 
and  the  walls  are  three  feet  thick. 

Near  Drumcliff  was  fought  a  great  bat- 
tle in  561,  arising  out  of  a  quarrel  over 
the  possession  of  a  copy  of  a  Latin  Psalter 
made  by  St.  Columba  from  one  borrowed 
of  St.  Finnian,  of  Moville.  St.  Finnian 
claimed  the  copy,  and  the  case  was  brought 
before  Dermot,  King  of  Meath,  who  de- 
cided, Brehon  fashion,  that  as  "to  every 
cow  belongs  its  calf,  so  to  every  book  be- 
longs its  copy/'  a  judgment  from  which 
St.  Columba  appealed  to  his  tribe.  The 
party  of  St.  Columba  was  victorious,  three 
thousand  of  the  men  of  Meath  being  slain. 
St.  Columba  was  advised  by  St.  Molaise 
to  go  to  Scotland  and  convert  the  pagans 
63 


ON  AN  IRISH  JAUNTING-CAR 

as  penance  for  the  blood  he  had  shed, 
which  he  did,  and  founded  a  missionary 
establishment  in  lona. 

Lord  Palmerston  took  a  great  interest 
in  this  part  of  the  country,  laying  out 
plantations  in  1842  and  building  a  har- 
bor, which  we  saw  from  the  car.  It  cost 
him  over  £20,000. 

While  riding  along  we  noticed  a  tower 
on  a  distant  hill,  and  said  to  the  driver, 
"Is  that  a  round  tower?"  "Yis,  sur." 
"Are  you  sure  it's  round?"  "Yis,  sur, 
I  am;  it's  square  it  is." 


SLIGO  TO  BALLINROBE 

WE  finally  reached  Sligo;  and  Sligo  is 
quite  a  place,  both  historically  and  com- 
mercially. It  has  a  population  of  10,274, 
and  is  an  important  seaport  town  in  close 
neighborhood  to  scenery  such  as  falls 
to  the  lot  of  very  few  business  towns.  It 
is  remarkably  well  situated  in  the  centre 
of  a  richly  wooded  plain,  encircled  on  all 
sides,  save  that  of  the  sea,  by  high  moun- 
tains, the  ascent  of  which  commences 
within  three  to  four  miles  of  the  town, 
while  on  one  side  of  it  is  Lough  Gill,  al- 
most equal  in  beauty  to  any  lake  in  Ire- 
land, and  on  the  other  a  wide  and  shel- 
tered bay.  Connection  between  the  two 
is  maintained  by  the  broad  river  Gar- 
rogue,  which  issues  from  Lough  Gill  and 
empties  itself,  after  a  course  of  nearly 
three  miles,  into  Sligo  Bay.  It  is  crossed 
by  two  bridges,  joining  the  parish  of  St. 
John  with  that  of  Calry  on  the  north  bank. 
Steamers  ply  regularly  between  this  town 
and  Glasgow  and  Liverpool. 
65 


ON   AN  IRISH   JAUNTING-CAR 

Sligo  attained  some  importance  as  early 
as  1245  as  the  residence  of  Maurice  Fitz- 
Gerald,  Earl  of  Kil'dare,  who  there  found- 
ed a  castle  and  monastery.  The  castle 
played  an  important  part  in  the  struggles 
of  the  English  against  the  Irish  chiefs 
in  the  thirteenth  century  and  subsequent- 
ly, in  which  the  rival  O'Conors  and  O'Don- 
nells  were  mainly  concerned.  Sligo  suf- 
fered in  the  massacres  of  1641,  when  it 
was  taken  by  Sir  Frederick  Hamilton 
and  the  abbey  burned.  The  Parliament- 
ary troops,  under  Sir  Charles  Coote,  took 
it  in  1645  after  a  battle  in  which  the  Irish 
were  defeated  and  the  warlike  Archbishop 
of  Tuam,  Malachy  0' Kelly,  was  killed. 
In  the  great  abbey,  which  is  now  a  fine 
ruin,  is  the  grave  of  Patrick  Beolan,  who 
did  not  "give  in/'  as  they  say  in  Ireland, 
till  he  had  reached  the  age  of  one  hun- 
dred and  forty-four. 

While  at  Sligo  we  met  the  brother  of 
Lieutenant  Henn  (owner  of  the  Galatea, 
and  who  tried  to  lift  the  cup  with  her  some 
years  ago).  This  man  is  a  local  judge 
and  a  very  pleasant  and  entertaining 
gentleman,  reminding  us  greatly  of  his 
late  brother,  whose  estate  he  inherited. 


BALLINROBE  TO  LEENANE 

OUR  next  points  were  Claremorris  and  Bal- 
linrobe.  They  were  not  interesting,  so  we 
took  a  car  to  Cong,  a  very  ancient  place 
lying  on  the  neck  of  land  which  sepa- 
rates Lough  Corrib  from  Lough  Mask. 
St.  Fechin,  of  Fore,  founded  a  church 
here  in  624,  and  it  is  at  this  place  that 
Lord  Ardilaun  has  his  castle,  a  large  build- 
ing on  the  shores  of  Lough  Corrib,  sur- 
rounded by  an  immense  park,  with  fine 
timber,  Italian  sunken  gardens,  and  a 
pheasantry.  In  the  gardens,  in  luxuri- 
ant profusion,  countless  varieties  of  rare 
plants,  gigantic  palms,  delicate  ferns, 
are  as  much  at  home  as  in  their  na- 
tive tropics,  carefully  nurtured  in  a  cli- 
mate tempered  to  their  necessities,  soft 
and  balmy  from  the  influence  of  the  Gulf 
Stream.  Lord  Ardilaun  has  many  other 
attractions  besides  these  at  Ashford  Cas- 
tle —  i.  e.,  steam  -  yachts,  watch  -  towers, 
conservatories,  stables,  a  salmon  -  river, 
67 


ON  AN  IRISH  JAUNTING-CAR 

game-preserves,  and  large  herds  of  red 
and  fallow  deer,  not  to  mention  the  Au- 
gustinian  monastery  built  by  the  king- 
monk  Roderic  O'Conor  in  the  twelfth 
century.  He  was  the  last  Irish  king, 
and  lived  the  concluding  fifteen  years 
of  his  life  within  these  walls  as  a  monk, 
in  the  strictest  seclusion;  he  died  in  1198, 
aged  eighty-two. 

The  Cross  of  Cong,  which  was  made 
for  Tuam,  was  brought  here,  it  is  thought, 
by  Roderic  O'Conor.  It  measures  two 
and  a  half  feet  high,  one  foot  six  and 
three-quarter  inches  across  arms,  and 
one  and  three-quarter  inches  thick.  It 
is  made  of  oak  plated  with  copper,  and 
covered  with  the  most  beautiful  gold  tra- 
cery of  Celtic  pattern.  In  the  centre  of 
the  arms  is  a  large  crystal;  thirteen  of 
the  original  eighteen  jewels  remain,  set 
along  the  edges  of  shaft  and  arms,  while 
eleven  of  those  which  were  set  down  the 
centre  of  arms  and  shaft  and  round  the 
crystal  are  lost.  It  was  found  by  the 
Rev.  P.  Prendergast  early  in  the  present 
century  in  a  chest  in  the  village,  and  after 
his  death  it  was  purchased  by  Professor 
MacCullagh  for  one  hundred  guineas,  and 
presented  to  the  Royal  Irish  Academy. 
68 


BALLINROBE  TO  LEENANE 

Loughs  Mask  and  Corrib  are  connect- 
ed by  an  underground  river,  as  the  po- 
rous nature  of  the  rock  will  not  permit 
the  water  to  flow  on  the  surface.  We  went 
down  thirty  feet  into  the  "pigeon-hole," 
which  is  near  the  castle,  to  see  the  flow 
of  water  through  the  ground.  The  ar- 
rangements for  seeing  this  place  might 
truly  be  called  hospitality  in  a  high  form, 
as  everything  is  shown  and  nothing  ex- 
pected in  return  for  the  courtesy.  The 
solicitude  of  the  old  gate-keeper  for  our 
welfare  was  particularly  marked,  for  when 
we  returned  to  the  gate  after  a  very 
peaceful  inspection,  he  doffed  his  hat  and 
exclaimed,  "Glory  be  to  God,  yer  hon- 
ors have  returned  safe  and  in  good  health, 
too,  I  see!" 

During  the  Irish  famine  an  attempt 
was  made  to  dig  a  canal  connecting  the 
lakes,  so  as  to  give  the  people  something 
to  do,  and  an  enormous  amount  of  money 
was  sunk  in  the  project.  The  rocky  bed 
absorbed  the  water,  however,  as  fast  as 
it  flowed  in,  and  the  enterprise  proved 
an  utter  failure.  Every  visitor  asks 
what  it  is  when  he  sees  it.  It  is  called 
"The  Great  Blunder." 


LEENANE  TO  RECESS 

NEXT  morning,  with  new  car,  horse, 
and  driver,  we  put  off  for  Leenane,  twenty- 
seven  miles  away.  We  drove  along  the 
banks  of  Lough  Mask,  with  its  groups 
of  small,  wooded  islands,  and  left  it  to  take 
the  road  along  Lough  Nafooey,  a  very 
picturesque  drive.  After  some  hours  of 
driving,  we  put  up  at  McKeown's  Hotel 
in  Leenane.  "Mac"  is  a  Pooh-Bah,  a 
tall,  strapping  young  Irishman,  a  "six- 
foot-twoer/'  with  an  intermittent  laugh 
that  takes  most  of  the  sting  out  of  his  ho- 
tel bills,  and  he  holds  the  complimentary 
title  of  "The  Major."  He  runs  an  up- 
to-date  hotel,  is  postmaster,  owns  a  store, 
has  all  the  mail -posting  contracts,  rents 
salmon  and  trout  rivers  and  lakes,  ships 
salmon  to  London,  and  owns  ten  thou- 
sand acres  of  shooting  -  land  stocked  with 
grouse,  hares,  snipe,  duck,  and  cock,  which 
he  lets  to  visitors,  as  well  as  seal  shoot- 
ing on  the  bay.  He  also  owns  a  sheep 
70 


LEENANE  TO    RECESS 

mountain,  from  which  he  serves  mutton 
to  his  guests  in  all  the  ways  that  man- 
kind has  ever  known  since  sheep  were 
first  slaughtered  for  food.  We  had  on 
succeeding  days,  as  part  of  the  menu, 
roast  mutton  (hot  and  cold),  stewed  lamb, 
boiled  leg,  roast  saddle,  minced  lamb, 
mutton  cutlets,  broiled  kidneys,  lamb 
chops,  Irish  stew,  suet  -  pudding,  sweet- 
breads, French  chops,  sheep's-head,  and 
mutton  broth.  We  fancied  we  could  de- 
tect wool  growing  on  the  palms  of  our 
hands  when  we  left  the  hotel,  and  could 
have  forgiven  "Mac"  if  we  could  only 
have  found  it  starting  on  the  tops  of  our 
heads  instead.  At  another  hotel  in  a 
fishing  centre  we  had  an  aquarium  style 
of  living,  which  in  time  became  monot- 
onous: they  served  up  in  the  course  of 
time  for  our  delectation,  salmon  boiled 
and  salmon  broiled,  cold  salmon,  salmon 
steak,  salmon  croquettes,  salmon  cut- 
lets, and  stewed  salmon,  intersticed  with 
white  trout,  black  trout,  yellow  trout, 
brown  trout,  sea  trout,  speckled  trout,  and 
gillaroo.  But  at  Recess  they  combined 
such  things  with  chops,  duck,  green  pease, 
lobster,  and  Irish  sole  right  out  of  the  near- 
by sea.  All  hail,  Recess!  And  long  life 


ON   AN    IRISH  JAUNTING-CAR 

to  Polly,  the  peach  -  cheeked  waitress  who 
served  us  so  nimbly ! 

Next  morning  we  crossed  Killary  Bay 
in  a  boat,  and  while  doing  so  we  noticed 
that  the  captain  held  his  leg  in  a  very 
constrained  position.  We  asked  him  if 
it  was  stiff,  or  if  he  was  troubled  with 
rheumatism.  "No;  to  tell  your  honor 
the  truth,  there's  a  hole  in  the  boat,  an' 
I'm  jist  kapin'  me  heel  in  it  to  save  her 
from  sinkin'." 

After  landing  we  drove  to  Delphi  to  see 
its  lake  and  woods;  then  on  to  Lough 
Dhu,  a  long  sheet  of  water  from  the  banks 
of  which  the  mountains  rise  to  a  height 
of  twenty-five  hundred  feet.  Delphi  is 
one  of  the  loveliest  spots  in  Connemara, 
but  we  can  hardly  go  as  far  as  the  en- 
thusiastic Englishman  who  wrote:  "It 
may  be  safely  said  that  if  Connemara 
contained  no  other  beauty,  Delphi  alone 
would  be  worth  the  journey  from  Lon- 
don, for  the  sake  of  the  mountain  scenery." 
Delphi  House  formerly  belonged  to  the 
Marquis  of  Sligo,  and  at  one  time  he 
lived  there.  We  returned  by  driving 
round  the  head  of  the  bay,  with  a  horse 
that  would  have  retarded  a  funeral  pro- 
cession. Within  a  mile  of  the  hotel  there 
72 


a 
c 


LEENANE  TO   RECESS 

is  a  double  echo,  which  we  tested  by  loud 
whistling  on  our  fingers.  After  crossing 
the  bay,  the  echo  came  back  to  us  with 
great  strength,  striking  our  side  of  the 
mountain  again  and  thus  making  a  sec- 
ond echo. 

On  the  morning  before  we  left,  I  lay  in 
bed  half  asleep,  and,  as  the  bedrooms 
in  the  west  of  Ireland  rarely  have  any 
locks  on  their  doors,  our  confidential 
"boots"  stole  quietly  into  the  room  and, 
looking  at  me,  soliloquized  in  a  tender 
tone,  suggestive  of  a  tip  if  I  should  hear 
him :  "  Sure,  his  honor  is  slapin'  loike 
a  baby,  an'  'twould  be  nothin'  short  of 
a  crime  to  wake  him  up  this  wet  morn- 
in';  I  haven't  the  heart  to  do  it."  And 
he  walked  out  of  the  room  with  his  eye 
on  the  future. 

The  following  day  we  "took  in"  the 
Killaries,  as  they  are  called.  This  is  a 
long  arm  of  the  sea,  surrounded  by  high, 
bold  mountains,  clothed  with  very  green 
verdure  to  their  tops.  It  is  a  wonder- 
ful fiord,  which  has  scarcely  any  parallel 
in  the  British  Isles  and  much  resembles 
the  coast  scenery  in  Norway.  Capacious 
and  fit  for  the  largest  ships,  it  runs  in- 
land to  the  very  heart  of  the  mountains 
73 


ON  AN  IRISH  JAUNTING-CAR 

for  a  distance  of  some  nine  miles.  The 
mountain  scenery  on  the  north  of  the 
fiord  is  incomparably  the  finest,  the  enor- 
mous walls  of  Mweelrea,  the  "  Giant  of  the 
West/'  and  Bengorm  rising  abruptly  to 
the  height  of  two  thousand  six  hundred 
and  eighty-eight  feet  and  two  thousand 
three  hundred  and  three  feet,  while  the  ex- 
cessive stillness  of  the  land-locked  water, 
in  which  the  shadows  of  the  hills  are 
clearly  reflected,  makes  it  difficult  for  one  to 
believe  that  it  is  the  actual  ocean  which  he 
beholds. 

That  night,  after  a  drive  of  twelve  miles, 
we  reached  Casson's  Hotel  in  Letterfrack, 
where  we  asked  for  a  fire  in  the  dining- 
room,  as  it  was  cold  when  we  arrived. 
The  maid  brought  a  burning  scuttle  of 
peat,  the  smoke  from  which  did  not  sub- 
side during  the  entire  dinner,  but  it  looked 
comfortable,  to  see  each  other  through  it, 
reminding  us  of  cheerful  fires  and  warm 
nooks  at  home;  the  comparison  could 
go  no  farther,  however.  We  asked  the 
maid  for  a  wine-list,  in  order  that  we  might 
try  to  overcome  the  effect  of  the  smoke, 
and  she  responded,  with  great  na'ivete, 
that  she  had  no  wine-list,  but  would  bring 
us  a  sample  from  every  bin  in  the  cellar. 
74 


LEENANE  TO  RECESS 

In  a  few  minutes,  sure  enough,  she  bounced 
into  the  room  with  her  arms  full  of  hot 
ties,  saying:  'Take  yer  ch'ice,  gin  tie- 
men;  there's  nothin'  foiner  in  all  Con- 
nemara!"  We  took  her  at  her  word;  she 
had  not  deceived  us — the  bottle  we  selected 
was  a  good  claret. 

Next  morning  the  landlady  furnished 
us  with  the  best  animal  we  had  on  the 
trip.  She  was  a  stout,  bay  mare,  and  when 
her  spirits  had  rallied  after  leaving  a 
young  colt  of  hers  behind,  she  reeled  off 
the  miles  like  a  machine.  Our  object  in 
visiting  this  part  of  the  country  was  to 
see  Mitchell  Henry's  famous  castle,  Kyle- 
more,  and  the  Twelve  Pins,  about  which 
we  had  been  hearing  all  our  lives  without 
ever  having  had  an  opportunity  to  visit 
them  until  now. 

Mr.  Henry  was  a  linen  merchant,  with 
houses  in  Belfast  and  Manchester;  he 
made  a  fortune,  purchased  fourteen  thou- 
sand acres  of  land  in  Connemara  to  give 
himself  a  political  foothold,  and  in  con- 
sequence became  M.  P.  for  Galway,  which 
position  he  retained  for  six  years.  About 
forty  years  ago  he  began  the  construc- 
tion of  Kylemore,  selecting  as  a  site 
a  valley  between  very  high  mountains, 
75 


ON  AN  IRISH  JAUNTING-CAR 

with  a  lake  and  river  in  front  of  the  spot 
where  his  castle  would  stand.  He  col- 
lected rare  trees  and  planted  the  moun- 
tain-sides with  them,  as  well  as  the  valley 
round  his  buildings.  In  addition  to  the 
castle,  he  erected  fine  stables,  a  private 
chapel,  sheltered  gardens,  and  conserva- 
tories, and  preserved  the  salmon  and  trout 
in  the  lake  and  river.  The  moist  heat 
from  the  Gulf  Stream  was  his  main  ally, 
and  nowhere  else  in  the  world  can  more 
bursting  vigor  and  splendid  growth  be 
seen  than  are  exhibited  by  his  trees,  shrubs, 
and  flowers;  to  see  them  is  a  veritable 
treat  to  those  who  are  interested  in  such 
things.  In  the  gardens  flourish  groups 
of  tropical  plants,  palms,  and  rare  ferns 
the  year  round;  they  need  no  protection 
in  this  mild  climate.  His  roads  have 
double  fuchsia  hedges  twelve  feet  high, 
which,  anywhere  else  than  in  Connemara, 
would  be  worth  a  fortune.  They  were 
in  full  bloom  when  we  saw  them.  Mr. 
Henry  is  now  a  very  old  man  and  lives 
in  London;  and  the  sad  part  of  it  all  is 
that  he  cannot  enjoy  the  glories  of  his 
famous  property,  and  it  is  for  sale.  Sic 
transit  gloria  mundil 
After  visiting  the  castle,  church,  gar- 
76 


LEENANE  TO    RECESS 

dens,  and  conservatories,  we  drove  through 
the  extensive,  finely  wooded  demesne, 
passing  vast  banks  of  rhododendrons 
and  hydrangeas  in  rare  bloom,  till  we 
reached  the  county  road  and  caught  our 
first  glimpse  of  the  Twelve  Pins,  or  Bens, 
as  they  are  sometimes  called.  They  were 
a  disappointment;  we  had  heard  too  much 
about  them.  The  Twelve  Pins  is  a  group 
of  high  mountains  having  but  little  ver- 
dure; the  highest,  Benbaun,  is  two  thou- 
sand four  hundred  feet  above  sea  -  level. 
The  remarkable  feature  about  them  is  that 
they  are  practically  one  long  mountain  with 
twelve  peaks  rising  from  it  at  regular  in- 
tervals. Excepting  this  startling  effect,  they 
do  not  compare  with  Muckish,  Dooish,  or 
Errigal,  the  "peerless  cone"  of  Donegal. 

The  bay  mare  carried  us  in  gallant  style 
past  the  long,  romantic  -  looking  Lough 
Inagh  down  to  Recess,  where  we  put  up 
at  the  best  hotel  we  had  found  since  we 
started. 


ACHILL  ISLAND 

I  AM  writing  this  from  memory  and 
without  notes,  so  I  may  be  pardoned  for 
having  forgotten  to  introduce  in  its  prop- 
er place  our  trip  to  Achill  Island,  one  of 
the  most  interesting  of  our  experiences. 
I  shall  start  by  saying  that  we  crossed 
over  to  the  island  at  its  nearest  point  to 
the  main-land,  and,  taking  our  seats  on  a 
"long"  public  car  which  stood  in  readi- 
ness, we  were  pulled  by  two  immense 
horses  the  thirteen  miles  to  the  village  of 
Dugort  at  a  steady  pace  that  never  "  slack- 
ed up"  for  the  entire  distance.  It  rained, 
but  the  car  was  plentifully  supplied  with 
tarpaulins,  which  were  strapped  round 
us  in  artistic  st37le,  and  so  we  arrived  at 
the  Slievemore  Hotel  dry  but  benumb- 
ed. "Mine  host"  of  the  Slievemore,  one 
Captain  Sheridan,  is  perhaps  the  best- 
known  Boniface  in  the  west  of  Ireland.  The 
iridescent  splendor  of  his  imagination, 
his  contempt  for  detail,  and  his  facility 
78 


ACHILL   ISLAND 

in  escaping  when  cornered,  place  him 
on  a  plinth  so  high  that,  compared  with 
him,  Baron  Munchausen  would  seem  to 
be  a  practical  monument  of  truth  and 
accuracy;  indeed,  the  Baron  is  his  only 
rival  in  all  the  years  that  have  gone  to 
make  up  history.  He  greeted  us  with: 
"  I  saw  you  coming ;  knew  by  your  looks 
you  were  the  real  thing,  and  wired  for  a 
ten-pound  salmon." 

We  were  stiff  and  cold  after  the  wet 
drive,  and  asked  for  a  nip  of  Irish  whiskey. 
"  Bad  luck  to  it,  anyhow,  I  haven't  a  drop 
in  the  house,  but  my  team  is  hauling  a 
cask  of  'Power's  Best'  from  the  main- 
land. But  I  have  'Scotch/  boys,  as  is 
'Scotch';  not  a  headache  in  a  hogshead 
of  it!"  So  we  had  the  substitute,  and, 
upon  our  asking  its  age,  he  started  in 
rather  modestly  at  "five,"  and  when  we 
gave  him  a  drink  quickly  raised  it  to  "  ten 
year  old."  Before  the  evening  was  over, 
he  told  us,  in  a  confidential  whisper,  that 
the  prime  -  minister  had  been  his  guest 
some  time  before  and  had  pronounced  it 
"twenty,"  so  he  did  not  know  how  old 
it  really  was  —  we  must  be  the  judges. 
He  had  a  collection  of  stuffed  birds  and 
horns,  and  upon  being  asked  what  he 
79 


ON  AN  IRISH  JAUNTING-CAR 

would  take  for  a  pair  of  ram's  horns,  he 
exclaimed:  "Tis  simply  priceless  they 
are!  'Twould  cost  you  a  thousand  pounds 
to  fit  out  an  expedition  to  get  them,  and 
besides  you  would  have  to  get  permission 
from  the  Grand  Llama  of  Thibet,  for  'tis 
only  in  his  dominions  that  these  rare  ani- 
mals are  found;  but  still,  I  have  too  many 
horns,  and  I'll  let  you  have  the  pair  for 
forty  guineas,  packed  up  and  ready  for 
the  steamer." 

He  admitted  that  he  was  a  first  cousin 
of  Phil  Sheridan's.  "They  try  to  make 
out  that  Phil  wasn't  an  Irishman,  that 
he  was  born  half  -  way  over,  but  I  tell  you 
the  true  facts  are  that  he  was  born  before 
he  started,"  was  the  way  he  conclusively 
settled  General  Sheridan's  nationality. 

Guests  "move  on"  at  the  approach  of 
rain  in  Irish  hotels,  so  our  genial  host 
would  pass  from  room  to  room  if  it  threat- 
ened rain,  calling  out  to  an  imaginary 
guest,  'Twill  be  a  lovely  day  to-mor- 
row." Pressed  to  divulge  his  sentiments 
on  the  landlord  -  and  -  tenant  question,  and 
not  knowing  how  we  stood,  he  said:  "I'm 
for  'give  and  take';  the  tenant  to  give 
what  he  thinks  fair,  and  the  landlord  to 
take  it  or  leave  it." 

80 


ACHILL  ISLAND 

He  had  a  supreme  contempt  for  rival 
attractions,  and  said  that  the  Dunfanaghy 
puffins  were  corn-fed  and  the  seals  were 
chained  to  the  bottom  to  attract  visitors. 
He  had  a  comic-opera,  smuggler,  weather 
predictor,  and  long  -  distance  -  sea  -  serpent 
man  who  turned  up  every  morning  and 
mingled  with  the  guests.  He  dressed  the 
part  to  perfection,  &  la  Dick  Deadeye, 
and  would  tell  how  many  whales  and 
seals  he  had  seen  in  the  bay  at  daybreak. 
As  for  the  weather,  with  him  it  was  al- 
ways assured;  if  it  rained  while  he  was 
talking,  he  would  belittle  it  by  saying, 
"Sure,  'tis  but  a  little  bit  of  a  shower; 
'twon't  last  ten  minutes";  then  he  would 
pilot  a  schooner  over  the  bar  and  disap- 
pear. 

But,  after  all,  our  host  Sheridan  was 
a  kindly,  good-natured  fellow  and  very 
accommodating;  he  had  told  his  tales 
so  often  that  he  really  believed  them,  and 
was  not  so  much  to  blame  as  one  would 
think  at  first  sight.  His  wife  was  a  most 
capable  manager,  and  largely  made  up 
for  his  shortcomings  in  the  fulfilment 
of  promises.  Cead  Mille  Failthe  (a  hun- 
dred thousand  welcomes)  was  emblazon- 
ed on  a  large  Crescent  over  the  door. 

6  \       8l 


ON  AN  IRISH  JAUNTING-CAR 

The  place  was  well  supplied  with  pets — 
cats,  dogs,  and  a  tame  crow  making  up 
the  family.  The  house  has  four  pairs 
of  stairs  leading  from  the  hall  vestibule; 
there  is  a  high  mountain  close  to  its  rear 
and  another  right  in  front  of  it,  \vith  the 
Atlantic  to  the  west;  so  that  it  must  be 
described  as  a  picturesque  establishment 
in  every  detail.  The  weather  became  fog- 
gy, and  we  were  about  to  leave  without 
trying  to  see  anything,  when  the  sun  sud- 
denly broke  through  the  clouds  and  we 
changed  the  programme  by  remaining. 

Achill  Island  is  fifteen  miles  long  by 
twelve  miles  wide;  it  is  bounded  by  Black- 
sod  Bay  on  the  north  and  by  Clew  Bay  on 
the  south.  There  is  a  small  grocery  store 
on  the  west  side  of  the  island  which  is 
said  to  be  the  nearest  saloon  to  America, 
and  proud  is  the  owner  of  this  distinc- 
tion. The  people  lead  a  very  peculiar 
life.  The  latitude  is  high,  and  conse- 
quently in  the  dead  of  winter  the  day  is 
very  short,  and  they  cannot  fish  in  the 
stomry  waters  surrounding  the  island. 
They  save  enough  money  in  summer  to 
carry  them  through  the  winter  months, 
and  amuse  themselves  during  the  long 
nights  by  dancing.  Every  community 
82 


ACHILL   ISLAND 

has  its  fiddler,  and  it  is  his  business  to 
provide  a  house  with  a  large  room  in  which 
the  dances  can  be  held.  Each  family 
furnishes  the  supper  in  turn,  and  all  "  pay 
the  fiddler/'  One  would  suppose  that 
whiskey  would  pla}T  the  leading  part  in 
such  entertainments;  and  up  to  the  lat- 
ter part  of  the  last  century  it  did,  but  it 
is  now  entirely  absent.  Long  experi- 
ence taught  the  participants  that  if  peace- 
ful family  parties  were  to  be  indulged  in, 
the  "mountain  dew"  must  be  an  absentee; 
so  they  took  to  Guinness's  stout,  and  the 
piles  of  "empties/'  everywhere  to  be  seen, 
show  clearly  that  the  Guinness  shares  are 
a  valuable  investment.  This  dancing 
is  carried  on  in  most  of  the  northwestern 
counties,  where  the  winter  days  are  short. 
The  "balls"  end  at  about  3  A.M.,  and 
the  dancers  sleep  till  eleven  the  next  morn- 
ing. 

The  island  contains  the  cathedral  cliffs 
of  Menawn,  one  thousand  feet  in  height, 
hollowed  by  the  long  action  of  the  waves 
through  countless  centuries,  and  having 
a  striking  resemblance  to  stupendous 
Gothic  aisles. 

We  started  early  in  the  morning  for 
Achill  Head,  via  Keem  Bay,  traveling 
83 


ON  AN  IRISH  JAUNTING-CAR 

as  usual  on  a  car,  driven  by  a  boy.  We 
drove  through  a  unique  fishing  village, 
consisting  of  very  small  houses  laid  out 
in  regular  streets,  the  thatched  roofs  be- 
ing secured  against  the  winter  storms  by 
ropes  on  which  were  hung  large  stones 
about  the  size  of  watermelons.  These 
rows  of  stones  swayed  in  the  wind  and 
produced  a  curious  effect  while  in  motion. 
The  car  stopped  at  the  foot-hills,  where 
the  road  changed  into  a  path,  and  waited 
under  a  shed  for  our  return  in  the  even- 
ing. On  alighting  we  were  delighted 
to  hear  the  sweet,  familiar  song  of  a  pair 
of  larks  that  soared  up  under  the  clear, 
blue  sky  so  far  above  our  heads  that  they 
seemed  mere  specks  which  we  could  see  but 
indistinctly.  It  was  many  years  since  we 
had  seen  and  heard  the  Irish  lark  in  its 
native  element,  and  we  listened  to  the  notes 
with  keen,  reminiscent  pleasure. 

Here  we  hired  two  gillies  to  help  us  in 
climbing  Achill  Head,  which  is  quite  a 
high  mountain.  We  climbed  up  a  steep 
track  for  about  three  miles,  and  were  con- 
gratulating ourselves  upon  our  progress, 
when,  on  rounding  the  hip  of  the  hill, 
we  discovered  that  we  should  have  to  de- 
scend again  to  sea-level  at  Keem  Bay, 
84 


ACHILL   ISLAND 

in  order  to  commence  the  real  ordeal.  It 
was  easy  work  going  down,  and  we  soon 
reached  the  bay.  This  is  a  beautiful 
spot,  an  indenture  in  the  headland,  with 
a  firm,  yellow  strand  at  the  head,  and 
perpendicular,  rocky  bluffs  on  its  sides. 
Three  large  boats  were  salmon  -  fishing, 
and  from  the  many  places  where  we  rested 
on  our  long  climb  up  the  mountain  we 
saw  them  tacking  back  and  forth  all  day. 

Near  the  shore  we  visited  the  house  and 
store  of  Captain  Boycott,  both  in  ruins. 
This  is  the  gentleman  who  gave  us  a  new 
word  for  our  vocabulary.  Notwithstanding 
his  fate,  he  had  many  warm  friends  among 
the  peasantry. 

We  started  climbing  again  by  follow- 
ing the  bed  of  a  brawling  stream,  and 
adhered  to  it  until  it  turned  into  a  rivulet. 
Most  Irish  mountains  are  formed  by  a 
series  of  benches,  and  our  plan  was  to 
climb  briskly  till  we  reached  a  bench  and 
there  make  a  recovery  for  the  next  as- 
sault. As  we  rose  in  the  air  we  felt  our 
clothing  becoming  burdensome,  and  we 
gave  one  article  after  another  to  the  gil- 
lies, so  that  by  the  time  we  reached  the 
top  our  wardrobes  were  quite  elementary. 
It  seemed  to  us  that  all  the  benches  in 
85 


ON  AN  IRISH  JAUNTING-CAR 

Ireland  were  collected  on  that  mountain; 
each  one  was  to  have  been  the  last,  but 
still  there  was  another  and  yet  another. 
We  finally  reached  the  summit  and,  bathed 
in  perspiration,  lay  down  on  the  heather, 
wrapping  ourselves  in  rain  -  coats,  and, 
telling  the  gillies  to  wake  us  in  an  hour, 
fell  asleep.  It  would  not  have  been  much 
of  a  climb  for  a  mountaineer,  but  for  us, 
of  full  habit  and  totally  untrained,  it  was 
exercise  to  the  extreme  limit  of  endur- 
ance. 

When  we  awoke  we  crawled  on  all- 
fours  to  the  edge  of  the  head  and  looked 
over,  and  we  shall  never  forget  the  sight 
that  greeted  our  eyes!  Achill  Head  and 
Croaghaun  Mountain,  adjoining  it,  have 
the  reputation  of  being  the  highest  ma- 
rine cliffs  in  existence.  They  are  poised 
above  the  Atlantic  at  an  angle  of  sixty 
degrees,  and  the  particular  point  on  which 
we  lay  far  overhung  the  ocean.  Here 
lightning-splintered  pinnacles  shoot  from 
the  mass;  savage,  titanic  rocks  lie  on  the 
face  of  the  two  mountains  in  wild  con- 
fusion, scarred  and  rent  from  top  to  bot- 
tom, and  the  blue  waters  surge  and  break 
at  their  base  in  restless  confusion,  throw- 
ing up  the  spray  to  great  heights.  Then 
86 


ACHILL  ISLAND 

for  a  moment  all  is  calm,  only  to  begin 
over  again.  It  was  as  if  the  grandest 
Alpine  scenery  had  the  Atlantic  breaking 
on  its  lower  levels,  and  yet  it  retained 
the  charm  of  the  finest  verdure.  Between 
the  crevices  grew  blooming  heather,  lux- 
uriant ferns,  wild  flowers,  and  arbutus 
in  great  profusion,  while  flocks  of  wild 
gulls  circled  gracefully  through  the  air 
in  quest  of  food,  the  whole  being  envel- 
oped in  the  warm,  moist  air  of  the  Gulf 
Stream,  rising  from  the  face  of  the  ocean 
and  suffusing  the  cliff  upon  which  we 
rested,  giving  it  practically  the  tempera- 
ture of  a  hot-house.  It  was  always  a  strug- 
gle between  the  mist  and  the  sun;  each 
alternately  gained  the  mastery,  and  it 
was  this  weird  kaleidoscope  that  held  us 
spellbound  and  presented  wonderland  in 
a  new  guise.  The  Croaghaun  Mountain, 
two  thousand  two  hundred  and  nineteen 
feet  in  height,  lay  right  beside  us,  joined 
to  Achill  Head  by  a  rocky  bridge.  Its 
grand  and  peculiar  feature  is  that  at 
the  very  highest  point  it  would  seem  as 
if  the  rest  of  the  mountain  had  been  sud- 
denly cut  away,  leaving  a  vast  and  tre- 
mendous precipice  descending  to  the  water 
nearly  one  thousand  nine  hundred  and 
87 


ON  AN  IRISH  JAUNTING-CAR 

fifty  feet.  Deep  fissures  and  rocky  fur- 
rows have  been  worn  by  the  torrents 
wrhich  pour  down  after  heavy  rains,  and 
the  bottom,  where  it  shelves  slightly, 
is  strewn  with  bowlders  and  masses  of 
shattered  rock,  forming  natural  bulwarks 
against  the  advancing  tide.  From  where 
we  stood,  the  view  seaward  was,  of  course, 
boundless,  the  nearest  land  being  Amer- 
ica. It  is  doubtful  if  such  another  pan- 
orama is  unfolded  from  any  other  height 
in  the  British  Isles.  Far  out  is  the  Black 
Rock,  on  which  is  a  light  -  house  two  hun- 
dred and  sixty-eight  feet  high,  and  to 
the  northward  are  North  and  South  In- 
ishkea  and  Duvillaun.  The  Mullet  pen- 
insula, Erris,  and  the  ever -varying  out- 
lines of  Blacksod  Bay  lie  spread  out  like 
a  map,  and  beyond  Slievemore  is  a  net- 
work of  island  and  inlet,  above  which 
the  splendid  range  of  the  Ballycroy  Hills 
forms  a  background.  In  the  distance  is 
Nephin;  far  to  the  south  rises  the  rugged 
head  of  Croagh  Patrick  and  the  moun- 
tains round  Clew  Bay;  farther  off  are 
the  summits  of  the  Twelve  Pins;  Achill 
Beg  lies  immediately  below;  beyond  it, 
Clare  Island,  and  farther  south  Inish- 
turk,  Inishbofin,  and  Inishshark  bound 
88 


ACHILL  ISLAND 

the  horizon.  Off  the  Mullet  are  numer- 
ous islands,  of  which  the  principal  are 
Inishkeeragh  and  Inishglora,  where,  ac- 
cording to  some,  the  dead  are  subject  to 
such  extraordinary  and  preserving  in- 
fluences that  their  nails  and  hair  grow 
as  in  life,  "so  that  their  descendants  to 
the  tenth  generation  can  come  and  with 
pious  care  pare  the  one  and  clip  the 
other. "  The  eagle  still  haunts  these 
cliffs,  and  the  wild  goat  feeds  almost 
secure  in  his  last  haunts  on  these  isl- 
ands. 

It  was  growing  late,  and,  as  we  had  five 
miles  of  walking  before  us,  we  retraced 
our  steps  down  the  mountain  to  Keem 
Bay.  The  trials  of  that  descent  have 
not  been  written  in  sand — they  will  never 
be  forgotten.  In  our  exhausted  condi- 
tion we  reeled  and  staggered  from  hum- 
mock to  hummock,  floundered  through  the 
soggy  bog  like  a  pair  of  stranded  seals, 
sat  down  in  the  heather  for  a  few  gasps 
of  breath  when  we  could  go  on  no  longer. 
We  guyed  each  other,  guyed  the  Emerald 
Isle  and  its  people;  we  sneered  at  the  story 
of  George's  hatchet,  and  concluded  that, 
after  all,  King  Edward's  job  was  not  what 
it  was  cracked  up  to  be  —  anything  to 


ON   AN  IRISH   JAUNTING-CAR 

divert  our  minds  from  the  dreadful  pres- 
ent. If  we  could  have  put  Achill  Island 
and  all  its  scenery  out  of  commission  for- 
ever, we  would  gladly  have  done  it.  But 
time  and  the  hour  run  through  the  rough- 
est day,  and  so  we  got  to  the  bottom.  At 
the  beach  we  saw  a  cowherd  coming  tow- 
ards us  with  numerous  cans,  and,  sup- 
posing these  to  be  full,  we  pounced  upon 
him  for  a  drink  of  milk.  Luck  was  against 
us  again — his  cans  were  empty,  and  he 
told  us  he  had  to  walk  a  mile  or  more  to 
where  his  cows  were  grazing  before  he 
could  fill  them.  We  braced  ourselves  for 
the  final  walk  round  the  mountain,  and 
as  it  was  a  fair  road  we  had  little  dif- 
ficulty in  reaching  the  shed  where  we 
had  left  the  car  in  the  early  morning.  The 
driver  was  watching  for  us,  and  we  gladly 
swung  ourselves  up  on  the  seats;  and 
no  pair  of  Irish  kings  ever  enjoyed  rid- 
ing in  royal  state  more  than  we  did. 
We  stopped  a  few  minutes  at  a  lake  by 
the  wayside  to  see  some  of  the  hotel 
guests  catching  a  basket  of  fine  trout, 
which  were  afterwards  served  for  a  late 
supper. 

We  awoke  next  morning  stiff  and  sore, 
but  a  breezy  chat  with  our  genial  host 
90 


ACHILL   ISLAND 

soon  put  us  on  good  terms  with  ourselves 
and  everything  about  us.  We  left  Achill 
Island  in  the  afternoon,  deeply  regret- 
ting that  we  had  not  more  time  to  devote 
to  its  wonders. 


RECESS  TO  GALWAY 

NOW  back  to  Recess,  which  we  left  so 
abruptly.  In  the  evening  we  went  for 
a  circular  drive  to  Ballynahinch,  with 
its  river,  lakes,  and  islands — up  the  river 
on  one  side,  crossing  it  on  a  bridge,  and 
down  again  by  the  base  of  the  Twelve 
Pins,  which  you  can't  get  away  from 
in  this  country.  We  saw  Ballynahinch 
Castle,  close  to  the  road  on  the  edge  of 
the  lake.  It  belongs  to  the  celebrated 
Martins,  whose  fortunes  have  been  graph- 
ically described  by  Charles  Lever  in  his 
popular  novel,  The  Martins  of  Cro  Martin. 
They  owned  two  hundred  thousand 
acres  of  land,  and  Colonel  Martin  is  said 
to  have  endeavored  to  put  the  Prince 
Regent  of  that  day  out  of  conceit  with 
the  famous  Long  Walk  at  Windsor  by  say- 
ing that  the  avenue  which  led  to  his  hall 
door  was  thirty  miles  long.  The  pleas- 
antry was  true,  for  he  owned  the  forty 
miles  of  road  from  Galway  to  his  own  door. 
92 


Thackeray  was  a  great  admirer  of  Irish 
scenery  and  wrote  profusely  about  it. 
These  "  Pins "  were  his  particular  hobby, 
and  he  never  tired  of  them.  In  one  book 
he  writes :  "  I  won't  attempt  to  pile  up 
big  words  in  place  of  those  wild  moun- 
tains over  which  the  clouds  as  they  passed, 
or  the  sunshine  as  it  went  and  came,  cast 
every  variety  of  tint,  light,  and  shadow. 
All  one  can  do  is  to  lay  down  the  pen  and 
ruminate,  and  cry  'Beautiful!'  once  more." 

Bravo,  William!  but  you  ought  to  have 
peered  over  Achill,  or  have  gone  in  a  boat 
to  see  the  birds  at  Horn  Head;  then  we 
should  have  heard  from  you  on  a  really 
great  theme. 

As  we  were  returning  to  the  hotel,  a 
white  automobile  approached  us  at  high 
speed,  and  we  could  not  but  admire  the 
dexterous  way  in  which  our  driver  got 
out  of  difficulty;  for  the  horse  had  be- 
come panic-stricken  and  was  about  to 
plunge  down  the  embankment  along  which 
we  were  driving.  He  jumped  from  his 
seat,  whipped  off  his  coat,  and  wrapped 
it  round  the  horse's  head.  The  animal 
was  so  much  surprised  at  the  novelty  of 
the  proceeding  and  the  sudden  loss  of  his 
sight  that  he  forgot  all  about  the  "white 
93 


ON  AN  IRISH  JAUNTING-CAR 

ghost"  till  it  had  safely  passed  us.  The 
chauffeur  shouted  back,  "Great  work; 
that's  a  new  patent!" 

At  Recess  we  had  the  pleasure  of  meet- 
ing Mr.  W.  J.  D.  Walker,  Inspector  and 
Organizer  of  Industries  for  the  Congested 
Districts  Board.  We  had  a  long  and  in- 
teresting reminiscent  chat  with  him  re- 
garding other  days  in  Ireland;  he  is  an 
enthusiast  on  the  subject  of  helping  the 
poor  there  to  help  themselves.  The  Board 
has  employed  experts  to  teach  these  peo- 
ple the  best  way  to  fish,  build  boats, 
breed  cattle,  till  and  improve  the  soil, 
make  lace,  weave  cloth,  manufacture 
baskets,  and  do  many  things  of  which 
they  have  at  present  but  little,  if  any, 
knowledge;  in  fact,  they  are  helped  in 
every  possible  way  by  the  British  gov- 
ernment. 

Galway  was  near  by,  and  an  agree- 
ment was  made  to  join  Mr.  Walker  on 
one  of  his  tours  of  inspection  to  the  Aran 
Islands.  So  to  Galway  we  went,  where 
we  received  our  first  mail  since  leaving 
America.  After  having  ascertained  that 
the  Seaboard  Bank's  doors  were  still  open, 
glanced  at  the  price  of  "U.  S.  Fours/' 
and  noted  the  growing  strength  of  the 
94 


RECESS    TO   GALWAY 

"Hackensack  Meadows/'  we  set  out  to 
see  the  town. 

Galway  is  situated  on  gently  rising 
ground,  on  the  north  side  and  near  the 
head  of  the  bay.  The  greater  portion 
of  the  town  is  built  upon  a  tongue  of  land 
bounded  on  the  east  by  Lough  Athalia, 
an  arm  of  the  sea,  and  on  the  west  by  the 
river  which  forms  the  outlet  of  Lough 
Corrib.  The  other  and  smaller  part  is 
on  the  opposite  bank  of  the  river  and  in 
the  district  known  as  lar  -  Connaught, 
the  connection  being  maintained  by  one 
wooden  and  two  stone  bridges.  The  West 
Bridge  is  a  very  ancient  structure  of  the 
date  of  1342,  and  formerly  possessed  two 
tower  gateways  at  the  west  and  centre; 
these,  however,  have  long  since  disap- 
peared. The  Upper  Bridge,  leading  from 
the  court-house,  was  erected  in  1818. 

Under  various  names  a  town  has  been 
established  here  from  the  very  earliest 
times,  and  Ptolemy  mentions  a  city  called 
Magnata,  or  Nagnata,  which  is  gener- 
ally considered  to  be  identical  with  Gal- 
way.  This  last  name  is  derived,  accord- 
ing to  some,  from  a  legend  to  the  effect 
that  a  woman  named  Galva  was  drowned 
in  the  river  hard  by;  by  others,  from 
95 


the  Gallaeci  of  Spain,  with  whom  the 
town  carried  on  an  extensive  trade;  and 
by  others,  again,  from  the  Gaels,  or  for- 
eign merchants,  by  whom  it  was  occupied. 
Nothing  is  definitely  known  of  Galway 
until  1124,  when,  according  to  the  "Four 
Masters,"  a  fort  was  erected  there  by  the 
Connaught  men.  This  was  thrice  de- 
molished by  the  Munster  men,  and  as 
often  rebuilt.  In  1226,  Richard  de  Burgo 
was  granted  the  country  of  Connaught, 
and,  having  crushed  the  O'Connors,  es- 
tablished his  power  in  the  West.  He 
took  Galway  in  1232,  enlarged  the  castle, 
and  made  it  his  residence.  From  this 
time  Galway  became  a  nourishing  Eng- 
lish colony.  Among  the  new  settlers 
was  a  number  of  families  whose  descend- 
ants are  known  to  this  day  under  the  gen- 
eral appellation  of  "the  Tribes  of  Gal- 
way," an  expression  first  invented  by 
Cromwell's  forces  as  a  term  of  reproach 
against  the  natives  of  the  town  for  their 
singular  friendship  and  attachment  to 
one  another  during  the  time  of  their 
unparalleled  troubles  and  persecutions, 
but  which  the  latter  afterwards  adopted 
as  an  honorable  mark  of  distinction  be- 
tween themselves  and  their  cruel  oppress- 
96 


RECESS    TO    GALWAY 

ors.  There  were  thirteen  of  these  so- 
called  tribes,  the  descendants  of  some  of 
which,  as  Blake,  Lynch,  Bodkin,  Browne, 
Joyce,  Kirwan,  Morris,  Skerrett,  D'Arcy, 
Ffrench,  Martin,  may  still  be  found 
among  its  citizens,  who  in  those  days 
carefully  guarded  themselves  from  any 
intercourse  with  the  native  Irish.  In 
one  of  the  by-laws,  of  date  of  1518,  it  is 
enacted  "that  no  man  of  this  towne  shall 
oste  or  receive  into  their  housses  at  Christe- 
mas,  Easter,  nor  no  feaste  elles,  any  of 
the  Burkes,  MacWilliams,  the  Kellies, 
nor  no  cepte  elles,  withoute  license  of  the 
mayor  and  councill,  on  payn  to  forfeit 
5/.,  that  neither  0'  nor  Mac  shalle  strutte 
ne  swaggere  thro'  the  streetes  of  Gall- 
way." 

The  following  singular  inscription  was 
formerly  to  be  seen  over  the  west  gate: 

"  From  the  fury  of  the  0' Flaherties 
Good  Lord  deliver  us." 

Owing  to  its  excellent  situation,  Gal  way 
enjoyed  for  centuries  the  monopoly  of 
the  trade  with  Spain,  whence  it  received 
large  quantities  of  wine,  salt,  etc.,  which 
caused  so  much  personal  intercourse  that 
the  town  became  impressed  to  a  cer- 
7  97 


ON  AN  IRISH  JAUNTING-CAR 

tain  degree  with  Spanish  features,  both 
in  the  architecture  of  the  streets  and  in 
the  dress  and  manners  of  the  popula- 
tion; though  it  has  been,  nevertheless, 
the  habit  of  former  writers  to  ascribe  too 
much  to  the  supposed  Spanish  origin  of 
the  town,  overlooking  the  fact  that  it  was 
inhabited  by  an  essentially  Anglo-Nor- 
man colony. 

The  first  charter  of  incorporation  was 
granted  by  Richard  II.,  and  confirmed  in 
successive  reigns  down  to  that  of  Charles 
II.  That  of  Richard  III.  excluded  Mc- 
William  Burke  and  his  heirs  from  all  rule 
and  power  in  Gal  way;  and  the  charter 
of  Elizabeth  made  the  mayor  Admiral 
of  Galway  and  the  bay,  including  the 
Aran  Islands.  Galway  reached  its  high- 
est point  of  opulence  at  the  commence- 
ment of  the  Irish  rebellion  of  1641,  dur- 
ing which  period  it  was  remarkable  for 
its  loyalty  to  the  king.  It  was  surren- 
dered to  Ludlow  in  1652,  having  suffered 
a  siege  and  such  barbarous  treatment 
at  the  hands  of  the  Parliamentary  army 
that  at  the  Restoration  the  town  was  al- 
most wholly  decayed.  From  a  map  made 
in  1651  by  the  Marquis  of  Clanricarde 
to  ascertain  the  extent  and  value  of  the 


RECESS    TO    GALWAY 

town,  it  appears  that  Galway  was  then 
entirely  surrounded  by  walls,  defended 
by  fourteen  towers,  and  entered  by  as 
many  gates. 

On  July  19,  1691,  a  week  after  the  bat- 
tle of  Aughrim,  Ginkell  with  fourteen 
thousand  men  laid  siege  to  it.  Two  days 
later  the  town  surrendered,  the  garrison 
being  permitted  to  evacuate  it  with  a  safe- 
conduct  to  Limerick  and  a  pardon  to  the 
inhabitants. 

Since  the  middle  of  the  last  century, 
the  fortifications  have  gone  fast  to  de- 
cay, and  now  nothing  remains  but  a  frag- 
ment near  the  quay  and  a  massive  arch- 
way leading  to  Spanish  Place.  There 
is  also  a  square  bastion  of  great  thick- 
ness in  Francis  Street,  and  a  portion  of 
wall  with  a  round-headed,  blocked  arch. 
Within  the  last  century  the  town  has 
so  much  increased  as  to  cover  more  than 
double  the  space  formerly  occupied  with- 
in the  walls.  Some  of  the  houses  are 
built  Spanish  fashion,  with  a  small  court 
in  the  centre  and  an  arched  gateway 
leading  into  the  street.  The  most  strik- 
ing specimen  of  domestic  architecture  is 
Lynch's  Mansion,  a  large,  square  build- 
ing at  the  corner  of  Shop  and  Abbeygate 
99 


ON  AN  IRISH  JAUNTING-CAR 

streets,  having  square  -  headed  doorways 
and  windows,  with  richly  decorated  mould- 
ings and  drip -stones.  There  is  also  a 
portion  of  the  cornice  or  projecting  bal- 
ustrade at  the  top  of  the  house,  the  hori- 
zontal supporting  pillars  being  termi- 
nated with  grotesque  heads.  On  the  street 
face  are  richly  ornamented  medallions 
bearing  the  arms  of  the  Lynches,  with 
their  crest,  a  lynx.  This  castle  has  more 
gargoyles  and  coats-of-arms  carved  upon 
it  than  ever  Mr.  Carnegie  can  hope  to 
cut  on  the  battlements  of  Skiebo.  I 
was  going  to  say,  the  Lynches  had  carv- 
ings "to  burn,"  but,  considering  the  in- 
combustible nature  of  these  ornamen- 
tations, the  phrase  would  perhaps  be 
inappropriate.  The  family  of  Lynch,  one 
of  the  most  celebrated  in  Galway  annals, 
is  said  to  have  originally  come  from  Linz, 
in  Austria,  of  which  town  one  of  them 
was  governor  during  a  siege.  As  a  re- 
ward for  his  services,  he  received  permis- 
sion to  take  a  lynx  as  a  crest.  The  fam- 
ily came  to  Ireland  in  the  thirteenth  cen- 
tury, and  flourished  there  till  the  middle 
of  the  seventeenth.  In  1484  Pierce  Lynch 
was  made  first  mayor  under  the  new  char- 
ter of  Richard  III.,  while  his  son  Stephen 
100 


RECESS   TO    GALWAY 

was  appointed  first  warden  by  Innocent 
VIII. ,  and,  during  a  period  of  a  hundred 
and  sixty -nine  years,  eighty -four  mem- 
bers of  this  family  were  mayors;  alto- 
gether the  Lynches  were  great  people 
in  Galway.  In  Market  Street,  at  the  back 
of  St.  Nicholas's  Church,  is  the  "Lynch 
Stone,"  bearing  the  following  inscription: 

"  This  memorial  of  the  stern  and  unbending 
justice  of  the  chief  magistrate  of  this  city,  James 
Lynch  Fitzstephen,  elected  mayor  A.D.  1493,  who 
condemned  and  executed  his  own  guilty  son,  Walter, 
on  this  spot,  has  been  restored  to  its  ancient  site." 

Below  this  is  a  stone  with  a  skull  and 
cross-bones,  and  this  inscription: 

"1524 

Remember  Deathe  Vaniti  of  Vaniti  and  al  is  but 
Vaniti." 

James  Lynch  Fitzstephen  had  been  one 
of  the  most  successful  of  the  citizens  in 
promoting  commerce  with  Spain,  which 
he  had  himself  personally  visited,  hav- 
ing been  received  with  every  mark  of  hos- 
pitality. To  make  some  return  for  all 
this  kindness,  he  proposed  and  obtained 
permission  from  his  Spanish  host  to  take 
101 


ON  AN  IRISH  JAUNTING-CAR 

his  only  son  back  with  him  to  Ireland. 
The  mayor  had  also  an  only  son,  unfor- 
tunately addicted  to  evil  company,  but 
who,  he  hoped,  was  likely  to  reform,  from 
the  circumstance  of  his  being  attached 
to  a  Galway  lady  of  good  family.  And 
so  it  might  have  proved  had  he  not  jeal- 
ously fancied  that  the  lady  looked  too 
graciously  upon  the  Spaniard.  Roused 
to  madness,  he  watched  the  latter  out  of 
the  house,  stabbed  him,  and  then,  stung 
with  remorse,  gave  himself  up  to  justice, 
to  his  father's  unutterable  dismay.  Not- 
withstanding the  entreaties  of  the  town 
folk,  with  whom  the  youth  was  a  fa- 
vorite, the  stern  parent  passed  sentence  of 
death,  and  actually  hanged  him  from  the 
window  with  his  own  hand. 

The  Joyces,  however,  ran  the  Lynches 
a  close  race  in  Connemara,  a  part  of  which 
is  called  "Joyce's  country."  In  Abbey- 
gate  Street  is  the  Joyces'  mansion,  now  in 
ruins.  On  a  house  in  the  adjoining  street 
are  the  arms  of  Galway.  The  complete 
ruins  of  Stubber's  Castle  are  in  High 
Street,  the  entrance  to  it  being  through  a 
shop,  the  only  feature  of  which  worth  no- 
ticing is  a  carved  chimney-piece  bearing 
the  arms  of  Blake  and  Brown  (1619).  In 
102 


RECESS   TO   GALWAY 

Market  Street  are  the  remains  of  the 
Burkes'  mansion. 

The  Bay  of  Galway  consists  of  a  long 
arm  of  the  sea,  protected  at  the  entrance 
by  the  lofty  cliffs  of  the  islands  of  Aran, 
which  in  clear  weather  are  visible  at  a 
distance  of  twenty -nine  miles,  and  on 
the  north  and  south  by  the  coasts  of  Gal- 
way  and  Clare,  respectively.  A  legend 
in  the  annals  of  Ireland  states  that  it  was 
once  a  fresh-water  lake  known  as  Lough 
Lurgan,  one  of  the  three  principal  lakes 
in  Ireland,  and  was  converted  into  a  bay 
by  the  Atlantic  breaking  over  and  unit- 
ing with  the  water  therein. 

A  large  number  of  the  population  is 
employed  in  the  salmon  and  herring  fish- 
ery, and  the  Claddagh  is  their  home.  This 
is  an  extraordinary  assemblage  of  low, 
thatched  cottages,  built  with  total  dis- 
regard to  system,  and  numbered  indis- 
criminately. Hardiman  wrote  of  them 
as  follows:  "The  colony  from  time  im- 
memorial has  been  ruled  by  one  of  their 
own  body,  periodically  elected,  who  is  dig- 
nified with  the  title  of  mayor,  regulates 
the  community  according  to  their  own 
peculiar  laws  and  customs,  and  settles 
all  their  fishery  disputes.  His  decisions 
103 


ON  AN  IRISH  JAUNTING-CAR 

are  so  decisive  and  so  much  respected 
that  the  parties  are  seldom  known  to  carry 
their  differences  before  a  legal  tribunal 
or  to  trouble  the  civil  magistrates."  The 
title  and  office  are  now  quite  obsolete. 
At  one  time  they  never  allowed  strangers 
to  reside  within  their  precincts,  and  al- 
ways intermarried  among  themselves,  but 
now  strangers  settle  among  them.  They 
are  a  very  moral  and  religious  people; 
they  would  not  go  to  sea  or  away  from 
home  on  any  Sunday  or  holiday.  The 
dress  of  the  women  of  the  Claddagh  was 
formerly  very  peculiar,  and  imparted  a 
singular  foreign  aspect  to  the  Galway 
streets  and  quays.  It  consisted  of  a  blue 
mantle,  red  body-gown  and  petticoat,  a 
handkerchief  bound  round  the  head,  and 
legs  and  feet  au  naturel;  but  that  dress 
is  rarely  seen  now.  The  Claddagh  ring 
— two  hands  holding  a  heart — becomes 
an  heirloom  in  a  family,  and  is  handed 
down  from  mother  to  daughter. 

One  of  the  sights  of  the  town  is  to  see 
the  salmon  waiting  to  go  up  the  Galway 
River  to  spawn.  We  rose  one  morning 
quite  early  to  see  this,  when  the  fish  would 
not  be  disturbed,  and  we  watched  them  from 
the  bridge  for  an  hour.  It  was  worth  the 
104 


RECESS    TO   GALWAY 

effort ;  we  saw  them  packed  in  schools,  quiv- 
ering and  jostling  one  another  in  their  eager- 
ness to  get  up  to  the  spawning-grounds. 

At  our  hotel  we  found  an  interesting 
character  who  served  in  the  capacity  of 
waiter.  When  questioned  on  the  sub- 
ject of  his  past  life,  he  said  that  he  had 
come  from  Hamburg  when  twenty  years 
old.  He  spoke  German  broken  into  Eng- 
lish with  a  strong  Connemara  brogue; 
and  if  Weber  and  Fields  could  only  have 
heard  him  describe  the  items  on  a  carte  de 
jour,  he  would  not  be  left  long  in  Galway, 
but  would  find  his  opportunity  in  their 
dramatic  temple  on  Broadway. 


ARAN   ISLANDS 

THE  Aran  Isles  lie  out  in  the  Atlantic, 
some  twenty-nine  miles  from  shore,  being 
visited  by  a  small  steamer  twice  a  week. 
We  took  passage  on  the  Duras  with  Mr. 
Walker  one  morning  soon  after  our  ar- 
rival. All  kinds  of  people  and  a  great 
variety  of  cargo  were  on  board.  We  stood 
out  to  sea  steadily,  and  in  a  few  hours 
reached  what  is  known  as  the  South  Island. 
Here  we  dropped  anchor  about  five  hun- 
dred yards  from  shore  and  commenced 
unloading  our  cargo  into  the  sea,  to  be 
taken  care  of  by  a  great  crowd  of  curraghs 
which  swarmed  about  the  ship.  (In  ex- 
planation it  may  be  stated  that  the  cur- 
ragh  is  a  great  institution :  it  is  a  lightly 
framed,  skeleton  boat  covered  with  raw 
cowhide  or  canvas  and  thoroughly  tarred, 
in  which  the  skilled  native  can  go  any- 
where in  all  weathers.  It  is  universally 
used  on  the  coast  from  Donegal  to  Con- 
nemara.)  Boards  were  tossed  into  the 
106 


ARAN    ISLANDS 

sea,  which  were  quickly  gathered  together 
by  the  curragh-men,  bound  with  ropes, 
and  towed  ashore.  We  had  a  drove  of 
pigs  on  board,  and  their  feet  were  tied 
together  with  ropes,  the  four  in  a  bunch, 
and  the  animals  piled  up  in  the  curraghs 
till  the  boats  would  hold  no  more;  then 
they  were  taken  near  the  shore,  liberated, 
and  allowed  to  swim  to  land  themselves. 
Their  squealing  and  grunting  was  like 
an  untrained  Wagnerian  band.  There 
was  a  cow  on  board,  and  she  was  pushed 
from  the  gangway  by  main  strength, 
plunging  headlong  into  the  waves;  there 
was  a  short  pause,  when  she  reappeared, 
swam  ashore,  shook  herself,  and  uncon- 
cernedly began  eating  grass,  none  the 
worse  for  her  bath.  Mr.  Walker  took  a 
snap-shot  of  her,  reaching  land.  (We 
are  also  indebted  to  this  fine  photographer 
for  the  many  excellent  views  he  took  for 
us  in  this  locality  and  on  the  mainland.) 
Then  there  were  all  sorts  of  other  things 
piled  into  the  curraghs,  and,  lastly,  we 
too  managed  to  get  into  one  and  were 
rowed  ashore. 

Mr.  Walker  then  took  us  to  a  lace-mak- 
ing  school    which    his  Board    had   estab- 
lished on  the  island,  and  we  saw  the  young 
107 


ON  AN  IRISH  JAUNTING-CAR 

girls  making  fine  laces  in  a  neat  build- 
ing that  had  at  one  time  been  a  church. 
The  instructress  had  been  on  the  island 
for  more  than  a  year,  and  Mr.  Walker  at 
once  gave  her  a  much-needed  vacation. 

Standing  on  the  shore,  I  asked  a  man, 
"Are  there  many  lobsters  here?"  "Sure, 
the  shores  is  red  wid  'em,  yer  honor,  in 
the  height  of  the  saison!"  was  his  ready 
reply. 

We  again  got  into  a  curragh,  boarded 
the  steamer,  and  were  under  way  in  a  trice 
for  Aranmore,  the  largest  island  of  the 
group,  where  we  landed  an  hour  later  at 
a  fine  pier  built  by  the  Congested  Dis- 
tricts Board.  The  village  is  called  Kil- 
ronan,  and  the  inhabitants  live  by  fish- 
ing. They  are  a  simple  and  peculiar 
people,  descended  from  the  Firbolgs,  re- 
taining some  parts  of  the  dress  and  many 
of  the  customs  of  that  race.  Their  foot- 
wear consists  of  a  coarse  stocking,  over 
which  they  wear  a  tight -fitting  slipper 
of  raw  cowhide  with  the  hair  on  it,  called 
a  "pampootie."  This  is  a  special  shoe 
for  use  on  the  smooth  and  slippery  rocks 
of  these  islands.  They  also  wear  a  snug, 
homespun  flannel  jacket  and  short  "  pants," 
the  whole  making  an  exceedingly  pictur- 
108 


r-  c 


c    •" 
s    ~ 

fl 

-  i 


ARAN    ISLANDS 

esque  and  effective  outfit  for  their  work. 
They  have  no  pockets  for  handkerchiefs, 
cigars,  eye-glasses,  gloves,  or  even  small 
change,  but  they  seem  to  get  on  very  well 
without  them. 

There  is  a  cable  to  the  island,  and  we 
had  wired  to  Mrs.  O'Brien's  cottage  for 
a  dinner,  there  being  no  hotel.  This  was 
ready  on  our  arrival,  and,  having  finished 
it,  we  took  the  only  car  on  the  island 
and  drove  out  to  Dun  (or  Fort)  Aengus, 
described  by  Dr.  Petrie  as  "the  most 
magnificent  barbaric  monument  now  ex- 
tant in  Europe."  Its  gigantic  propor- 
tions, isolated  position,  and  the  wild  scen- 
ery by  which  it  is  surrounded  render  the 
trouble  of  the  journey  to  see  it  well  worth 
while.  It  is  built  on  the  very  edge  of  sheer 
cliffs,  two  hundred  and  fifty  to  three  hun- 
dred feet  in  height,  forming  the  south 
and  east  sides.  In  form  it  is  of  horse- 
shoe shape,  although  some  antiquarians 
incline  to  the  belief  that  it  was  originally 
oval,  and  that  it  acquired  its  present  form 
from  the  falling  of  the  precipices.  It  con- 
sists of  three  enclosures  and  the  remains 
of  a  fourth.  The  wall  which  surrounds 
the  innermost  is  eighteen  feet  high  and 
twelve  feet  nine  inches  thick ;  it  is  in  three 
109 


ON  AN   IRISH  JAUNTING-CAR 

sections,  the  inner  one  seven  feet  high,  and, 
like  the  others,  has  the  centre  wall  lower 
than  the  faces.  This  enclosure  meas- 
ures one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  from  north 
to  south,  and  one  hundred  and  forty  feet 
from  east  to  west.  The  doorway  is  four 
feet  eight  inches  high  and  three  feet 
five  inches  wide,  very  slightly  inclining, 
and  the  lintel  is  five  feet  ten  inches  long. 
In  the  northwest  side  is  a  passage  lead- 
ing into  the  body  of  the  wall.  The  sec- 
ond rampart,  which  is  not  concentric, 
encloses  a  space  about  four  hundred  feet 
by  three  hundred.  Outside  the  second 
wall  is  the  usual  accompaniment  of  a  very 
large  "entanglement,"  thirty  feet  wide, 
formed  of  sharp  stones  placed  on  end  and 
sunk  in  the  ground  to  hinder  the  approach 
of  the  enemy  for  an  assault  on  the  fort 
and  make  them  an  easy  target  for  the 
bowmen  to  shoot  at.  So  effective  was 
this  entanglement  that  we  experienced 
considerable  difficulty  in  getting  through 
it,  and  when  we  did  accomplish  that  feat 
we  felt  fully  qualified  to  appreciate  the 
intrepidity  of  an  attacking  party  who 
would  brave  such  an  obstruction  to  their 
progress  when  storming  the  fort.  In- 
side these  stones,  to  the  west,  is  a  small 
no 


ARAN   ISLANDS 

enclosure,  the  wall  of  which  is  seven  feet 
nine  inches  high  and  six  feet  thick.  Out- 
side of  it  all  is  a  rampart,  now  nearly  de- 
stroyed, enclosing  a  space  of  eleven  acres. 
These  walls  terminate  at  both  ends  on 
the  south  cliffs.  About  the  first  century 
of  the  Christian  era,  three  brothers,  Aen- 
gus,  Conchobar,  and  Mil,  came  from  Scot- 
land to  Aran,  and  their  names  are  still 
preserved  in  connection  with  buildings 
on  the  island,  the  ancient  fort  just  de- 
scribed being  called  Dun  Aengus;  the 
great  fort  of  the  middle  island,  superior 
in  strength  and  preservation  to  the  former, 
bearing  the  name  of  Dun  Connor,  or  Con- 
chovar,  and  the  name  of  Mil  being  asso- 
ciated with  the  low  strand  of  Port  Mur- 
vey,  formerly  known  as  Muirveagh  Mil, 
or  the  Sea-plain  of  Mil. 

The  surface  of  the  ground  surround- 
ing Dun  Aengus  is  most  remarkable. 
It  is  a  level  sheet  of  blue  limestone  ex- 
tending for  many  miles  in  every  direc- 
tion. This  cracked,  when  cooling,  into 
rectangular  forms,  and  in  these  cracks 
grow  large  ferns,  the  only  vegetation  to 
be  seen.  The  mass  of  stone  retains  the 
sun's  heat  during  the  night,  and  conse- 
quently these  ferns  are  most  luxuriant, 
in 


ON  AN  IRISH  JAUNTING-CAR 

It  would  perhaps  prove  monotonous  to 
describe  in  detail  all  the  churches,  forts, 
beehive  cells,  and  monastic  ruins,  in  many 
cases  constructed  in  cyclopean  masonry, 
with  which  these  islands  are  literally  cov- 
ered; for  it  must  be  remembered  that  Ire- 
land in  the  early  ages  was  the  university 
of  Europe,  the  chief  resort  of  the  literati, 
where  scholars  came  to  learn  and  to  teach 
one  another  all  that  was  then  known, 
and  their  numbers  were  so  great  that  many 
buildings  were  required  for  their  accom- 
modation. The  wonder  of  it  all  is  why 
these  isolated  islands  should  have  been 
selected  as  the  seat  of  learning,  when  so 
many  other  more  convenient  sites  could 
have  been  chosen.  The  men  who  de- 
cided the  matter  seem  to  have  thought 
that  islands  so  far  removed  from  the  main- 
land would  offer  seclusion  and  better  pro- 
tection from  the  various  wars  that  had 
drenched  Ireland  in  blood  for  so  many 
centuries.  I  shall,  therefore,  content  my- 
self with  what  is  above  stated  regarding 
Dun  Aengus,  the  largest  and  most  im- 
portant structure  on  the  islands. 

Passing    over    the    tradition    of    Lough 
Lurgan,  the  earliest  reference  to  the  pre- 
Christian  history  of  the  Aran  Islands  is 
112 


ARAN  ISLANDS 

to  be  found  in  the  accounts  of  the  battle 
of  Muireadh,  in  which  the  Firbolgs,  hav- 
ing been  defeated  by  the  Danann,  were 
driven  for  refuge  into  Aran  and  other 
islands  on  the  Irish  coast,  as  well  as  into 
the  western  islands  of  Scotland.  Chris- 
tianity was  introduced  in  the  fifth  cen- 
tury by  St.  Enda,  Eaney,  or  Endeus,  who 
obtained  a  grant  of  the  islands  from  Aen- 
gus,  the  Christian  king  of  Munster,  and 
founded  ten  religious  establishments. 
Aranmore  speedily  obtained  a  world-wide 
renown  for  learning,  piety,  and  asceticism, 
and  "many  hundreds  of  holy  men  from 
other  parts  of  Ireland  and  foreign  coun- 
tries constantly  resorted  to  it  to  study 
the  sacred  scriptures  and  to  learn  and 
practise  the  rigid  austerities  of  a  hermit's 
life";  in  consequence  of  which  the  island 
was  distinguished  by  the  name  of  "Ara- 
Naoimh,"  or  Ara  of  the  Saints. 

A  century  ago  a  curious  custom  prevailed 
in  these  islands.  When  a  body  was  being 
carried  to  the  grave,  a  convenient  spot 
was  selected  at  which  to  rest  the  pall-bear- 
ers; here  the  funeral  procession  came  to 
a  halt,  generally  about  one  hundred  yards 
from  the  road.  This  spot  was  afterwards 
used  as  a  site  for  a  monument,  erect- 
s  113 


ON  AN  IRISH  JAUNTING-CAR 

ed  by  husband,  wife,  or  family,  as  the 
case  might  be,  which  for  the  most  part 
took  the  place  of  a  monument  in  the 
graveyard.  When  the  relatives  possessed 
means  these  memorials  became  quite  im- 
posing, bearing  carved  statuary  and  hav- 
ing a  short  history  of  the  dead  inscribed 
on  them,  winding  up  with  a  formula  in- 
voking a  blessing  on  the  souls  of  the  de- 
parted. We  left  the  car  to  inspect  a  long 
row  of  these  stones  fronting  on  the  main 
road  from  Kilronan  to  Dun  Aengus.  The 
quaint  things  said  in  praise  of  the  dead 
were  quite  interesting. 

Many  of  the  natives  on  Thursday  and 
Friday  in  Holy  Week  still  make  a  pil- 
grimage round  Aranmore,  a  distance  of 
twenty  miles,  performing  religious  ex- 
ercises at  each  church  in  the  circuit. 

The  O'Briens  were  lords  of  Aran  from 
an  early  period,  but  were  driven  out  by 
the  0' Flaherties  of  lar  Connaught,  who 
in  turn  were  driven  out  by  the  English 
in  1587.  In  1651,  the  Marquis  of  Clan- 
ricarde  fortified  the  Castle  of  Arkyn,  the 
stronghold  of  the  O'Briens,  which  held 
out  against  the  Parliamentary  army  for 
more  than  a  year  after  the  surrender  of 
Gal  way;  but  on  the  occupation  of  the 
114 


ARAN  ISLANDS 

island,  the  soldiers  of  Cromwell  demol- 
ished the  great  church  of  St.  Enda  to 
furnish  materials  for  the  repair  of  a  strong 
fort.  On  the  surrender  of  Gal  way  in  1691 
Aran  was  garrisoned,  and  remained  so 
for  many  years.  Aran  gives  the  title  of 
Earl  to  the  Gore  family. 

At  his  home  we  met  Father  Farragher, 
a  genial  gentleman  and  the  parish  priest 
of  Kilronan,  and  he  gave  us  a  great  deal 
of  interesting  information  concerning  the 
history  of  and  life  on  these  islands,  which 
are  historic  to  a  degree  rarely  met  with,  and 
with  which  he  was  thoroughly  familiar. 
We  returned  late  in  the  evening  by  steamer 
to  Galway. 

When  going  to  bed  at  the  hotel,  I  sum- 
moned our  comic  "boots,"  and  directed 
him  to  call  No.  41  at  six  o'clock.  The 
"  boots "  wrote  the  call  on  his  slate,  and 
then  sat  down  with  a  puzzled  expression 
on  his  face.  Noticing  this,  I  inspected 
the  slate  and  found  that  the  inscription 
read:  'Call  46  at  I."  He  excused  his 
blunder  by  saying :  "  Shure,  you  Yankees 
do  be  givin'  us  sich  quare  orders  these 
days,  we're  prepared  for  almost  anny- 
thin'." 

When   leaving    on    the   train    the   next 


ON  AN  IRISH  JAUNTING-CAR 

morning  and  after  we  were  seated  in  a 
crowded  carriage,  this  same  man  put  his 
head  in  through  the  open  window  and 
shouted:  "You  owe  us  another  shillin'; 
the  misthress  forgot  to  charge  the  brace 
of  'nightcaps'  ye  had  before  bedtime." 


LIMERICK 

THE  important  part  of  our  trip  being 
finished,  Mr.  Ross  left  for  London  to  wit- 
ness the  second  attempt  at  the  corona- 
tion of  King  Edward,  while  I  went  down 
to  see  Limerick  and  visit  its  annual  horse- 
fair.  Arrived  at  Limerick,  I  found  the 
town  full  of  the  horsiest  men  I  had  ever 
seen  anywhere.  They  had  the  knack  of 
horsy  dressing  down  to  a  fine  point. 
Horseshoe  pins  were  "the  thing/'  stuck 
in  light-colored  scarfs  wound  round  their 
necks;  their  shanks  were  tightly  rolled 
in  leather,  and  above  the  knee  they  wore 
Santos-Dumont  balloons  in  colors  that 
would  have  made  a  rainbow  look  like  a 
band  of  crape.  Most  of  them  had  the  con- 
ventional blade  of  grass  in  their  mouths, 
a  fashion  started  by  Lord  Palmerston 
fifty  years  ago  and  immortalized  by  John 
Leech  in  a  celebrated  Punch  cartoon 
of  the  period.  When  looking  at  a  horse, 
they  tilted  their  hats  far  back  into  the 
117 


ON  AN  IRISH  JAUNTING-CAR 

nape  of  their  necks,  planted  their  feet  wide 
apart,  stuffed  their  hands  into  their  pock- 
ets, and  carried  themselves  with  the  gen- 
eral air  of  one  who  soliloquizes,  "Well, 
I'm  just  looking  for  the  photograph  of  a 
man  who  can  get  away  with  me  on  a  hoss 
trade." 

Several  streets  in  the  horsy  quarter 
of  the  town  were  given  up  to  showing 
the  horses,  and  there  were  examples  of 
every  breed,  size,  color,  and  weight  you 
can  think  of,  including  hunters,  carriage- 
horses,  racers,  saddle-horses,  utility  nags, 
circus  -  horses,  and  ponies.  The  rushing, 
rearing,  plunging,  galloping,  trotting,  and 
loping  of  the  horses  and  the  shouting  of 
the  rough-riders  made  a  kaleidoscopic 
scene  of  dust,  noise,  and  confusion  which 
would  have  caused  any  one  suffering 
from  nervous  prostration  to  choose  some 
other  place  for  a  quiet  afternoon.  But 
I  was  there  to  see  it  through,  and  I 
went  into  the  spirit  of  the  occasion  for 
"all  I  was  worth/'  trying  my  best  to  lend 
a  helping  hand  in  many  of  the  trades. 
I  was  on  the  successful  side  twice,  and 
had  a  glass  of  Limerick  ale  at  a  neigh- 
boring bar  with  the  elated  buyers.  The 
dealing,  "swapping,"  and  buying  were 
118 


LIMERICK 

carried  on  in  true  artistic  style,  while  the 
rough -riding  when  showing  the  animals 
can  only  be  seen  in  Ireland.  It  takes  a 
buyer,  a  seller,  and  about  three  "cappers" 
on  each  side  to  close  a  trade;  they  almost 
pull  the  clothes  off  the  back  of  the  owner, 
and  slap  him  violently  on  various  parts 
of  his  body  when  "splitting  differences." 
A  buyer  always  bids  about  five  pounds 
more  than  he  will  really  give,  stipulating 
that  he  shall  have  the  five  pounds  returned 
to  him  after  the  purchase;  this  swells  the 
apparent  value  of  the  nag  and  pleases 
the  owner.  He  tells  his  neighbors  that 
he  sold  his  horse  for  the  larger  amount; 
but  they  know  that  he  didn't  get  it,  so 
there  is  no  harm  done. 

A  dealer  suddenly  slapped  me  on  the 
back  and  said,  "Why  don't  yer  buy  a 
foine  pair  for  yersilf  and  take  'em  to  the 
States  wid  ye?" 

"Oh,  the  horse  is  not  'in  it*  any  longer 
in  America;  the  automobile  is  king." 

"  Ach !  the  divil  burn  the  oightymoobiles 
annyhow ;  no  dacent  man  will  roide  in  wan 
av  'em  if  he  can  get  a  sate  behind  a  harse," 
was  his  prompt  reply. 

Young,  well -matched  carriage  pairs 
brought  one  hundred  and  fifty  guineas 
119 


ON  AN  IRISH  JAUNTING-CAR 

readily,  during  the  afternoon.  "Why 
don't  you  ship  some  of  these  teams  to 
America?  You  could  get  three  thousand 
dollars  for  them  in  New  York/'  was  a 
question  I  put  to  another  dealer. 

"I  know  it,  sir,  but  the  risk  and  ex- 
pense are  too  big;  'twould  break  me  up 
in  the  long  run."  And  I  suppose  he  was 
right. 

After  saying  so  much  about  the  horse- 
fair,  perhaps  it  might  be  as  well  to  say 
something  about  Limerick  itself.  Lim- 
erick has  had  quite  a  past,  and  there  has 
been  "a  hot  time  in  the  old  town"  about 
as  often  as  in  any  other  city  that  can  be 
pointed  out.  It  is  situated  in  a  broad 
plain,  watered  by  the  Shannon,  and  back- 
ed up  in  the  distance  by  the  hills  of 
Clare  and  Killaloe.  The  river,  which 
soon  becomes  an  estuary,  rolls  in  a  mag- 
nificent and  broad  stream  through  the 
heart  of  the  town,  and  sends  off  a  con- 
siderable branch  called  the  Abbey  River. 
This  branch,  rejoining  the  Shannon  far- 
ther north,  encloses  what  is  known  as 
the  King's  Island,  on  the  southern  por- 
tion of  which  is  built  the  English  Town, 
united  to  the  mainland  by  three  bridges, 
and  containing  the  most  ancient  build- 
120 


LIMERICK 

ings.  In  contradistinction  is  the  Irish 
Town,  which  lies  to  the  south  of  it  and 
more  in  the  direction  of  the  railway  sta- 
tion. These  two  districts  comprised  the 
fortified  old  town.  Up  to  Edward  II. 's 
time  only  the  English  Town  had  been  de- 
fended by  walls  and  towers,  but  these 
were  subsequently  extended  so  as  to  in- 
clude Irish  Town,  which  was  entered  by 
St.  John's  Gate.  The  eastern  portion 
of  the  walls,  in  parts  forty  feet  high,  is 
still  fairly  preserved. 

Newtown  Pery,  the  district  between 
this  and  the  river,  was  then  bare,  but  hav- 
ing come  into  the  possession  of  the  Pery 
family  (Earls  of  Limerick),  it  was  specially 
built  upon,  and  is  now  equal  to  any  city 
in  Ireland  for  the  breadth  and  cleanli- 
ness of  its  streets.  Of  these  the  principal 
is  George's  Street,  a  handsome  thorough- 
fare of  nearly  a  mile  in  length,  giving  off 
others  on  each  side  at  right  angles,  with 
a  statue  of  O'Connell,  by  Hogan,  erected 
in  1857,  at  the  south  end  of  it  in  Rich- 
mond Place.  There  is  also,  to  the  north, 
a  monument  to  the  memory  of  Lord  Mont- 
eagle. 

The  name  "Limerick"  is  derived  from 
the  Irish  Luimneach,  the  name  of  a  por- 
121 


ON  AN  IRISH  JAUNTING-CAR 

tion  of  the  Shannon,  by  the  corruption 
of  n  to  r.  Like  most  of  the  Irish  seaports, 
it  was  founded  in  the  ninth  century  by 
the  Danes,  who  were  subdued  by  Brian 
Boru  when  he  assumed  the  sovereignty 
over  Munster,  and  Limerick  thus  became 
the  royal  city  of  the  Munster  kings.  Af- 
ter passing  through  the  usual  stages  of 
intestine  native  war,  its  next  important 
epoch  was  marked  by  the  erection  of  a 
strong  fortress  by  King  John,  who  com- 
mitted the  care  of  it  to  the  charge  of  Will- 
iam de  Burgh.  Bruce  took  it  in  1316, 
and  remained  there  for  some  months. 
From  that  time,  with  a  few  intervals  of 
check,  it  steadily  gained  in  importance 
until  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  when  it  was 
made  the  centre  of  civil  and  military  ad- 
ministration. In  1641  it  held  out  for  some 
time  against  the  Irish,  but  was  taken 
by  them.  It  was  defended  in  1651  by 
Hugh  O'Neill  against  Ireton,  during  a  six 
months'  siege.  Here,  next  year,  Ireton 
died  of  the  plague. 

But  the  great  episode  in  the  history 
of  Limerick  took  place  during  the  wars 
of  William  and  James,  when  the  events 
occurred  which  fastened  on  it  the  name 
of  the  "City  of  the  Violated  Treaty."  Af- 

122 


LIMERICK 

ter  the  fall  of  Athlone  and  Galway,  Try- 
connell,  the  Lord  Lieutenant,  still  held 
Limerick  as  the  last  stronghold  that  King 
James  possessed,  the  city  having  been 
previously  unsuccessfully  assaulted  by 
the  English  under  William  at  the  head 
of  about  twenty-six  thousand  men  in  1690. 
Lauzun,  the  French  general,  said  "it 
could  be  taken  with  roasted  apples,"  and 
leaving  it  to  its  fate,  went  to  Galway  and 
embarked  for  France.  William's  army 
was  wanting  in  artillery,  and  he  awaited 
the  arrival  of  a  heavy  siege-train  from 
Dublin.  The  convoy  was  arrested  by 
Sarsfield,  who  started  at  night  with  six 
hundred  horsemen  on  the  Clare  side  and 
crossed  the  Shannon  at  Killaloe.  The 
next  night  he  fell  on  them  and  took  pos- 
session of  the  train.  He  filled  the  can- 
non with  powder,  buried  their  mouths  in 
the  earth,  and,  firing  the  whole,  utterly 
destroyed  them.  More  cannon  arrived 
from  Waterford,  and  William  pressed  for- 
ward the  siege.  On  the  2yth  of  August, 
a  breach  having  been  effected,  a  terrific 
assault  was  made,  lasting  four  hours,  in 
which  the  women  of  Limerick  were  con- 
spicuous in  the  defence;  the  besiegers 
were  repulsed,  losing  about  two  thou- 
123 


ON  AN  IRISH  JAUNTING-CAR 

sand  men.  In  consequence  of  the  swampy 
nature  of  the  ground  and  the  advanced 
season,  William  raised  the  siege.  A  fit 
of  apoplexy  carried  off  Tyrconnell,  when 
the  government,  both  civil  and  military, 
fell  into  the  hands  of  D'Usson  and  Sars- 
field.  Ginkell,  the  commander  of  the 
English  army,  endeavored  to  take  the 
town  by  an  attack  on  the  fort  which 
overlooked  and  protected  the  Thomond 
Bridge.  This  attack  is  described  in 
graphic  and  spirited  language  by  Lord 
Macaulay,  and  I  cannot  do  better  than 
give  the  account  of  it  in  his  own 
words : 

"In  a  short  time  the  fort  was  stormed.  The 
soldiers  who  had  garrisoned  it  fled  in  confusion  to 
the  city.  The  Town  Major,  a  French  officer,  who 
commanded  at  the  Thomond  Gate,  afraid  that  the 
pursuers  would  enter  with  the  fugitives,  ordered 
that  part  of  the  bridge  which  was  nearest  to  the 
city  to  be  drawn  up.  Many  of  the  Irish  went  head- 
long into  the  stream  and  perished  there.  Others 
cried  for  quarter,  and  held  up  their  handkerchiefs 
in  token  of  submission.  But  the  conquerors  were 
mad  with  rage ;  their  cruelty  could  not  be  im- 
mediately restrained,  and  no  prisoners  were  made 
till  the  heads  of  corpses  rose  above  the  parapet. 
The  garrison  of  the  fort  had  consisted  of  about 
eight  hundred  men ;  of  these  only  one  hundred  and 
twenty  escaped  into  Limerick." 
124 


LIMERICK 

The  result  of  this  capture  was  the  fall 
of  James's  power  in  Ireland  and  the  sign- 
ing of  the  famous  treaty  on  the  stone  near 
the  bridge  on  October  3,  1691,  the  ninth 
article  of  which  provided  that  the  Roman 
Catholics  should  enjoy  the  same  privileges 
of  their  religion  as  they  enjoyed  in  the 
reign  of  Charles  II.,  and  that  William 
and  Mary  would  endeavor  to  insure  them 
immunity  from  disturbance  on  account 
of  their  religion.  This  article,  however, 
was  never  carried  into  effect,  although 
through  no  fault  of  William's.  Large 
numbers  of  the  Irish  soldiers  took  service 
under  France,  and  formed  the  "Irish  Bri- 
gade," famous  in  after  years  in  conti- 
nental wars.  Sarsfield  was  killed  at  the 
battle  of  Landen  (1693),  and  it  has  been 
estimated  that  in  the  next  half  century 
four  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  Irish- 
men died  in  the  French  service.  For 
seventy  years  after  the  siege,  the  city 
was  maintained  as  a  fortress,  and  its  ram- 
parts and  gates  kept  in  repair  and  guarded. 
In  1760  it  was  abandoned  as  such,  its  de- 
fences dismantled,  and  the  city,  thus  freed, 
rapidly  extended  its  boundaries.  It  has 
since,  however,  been  a  station  for  large 
detachments  of  troops,  and  is  at  the  present 
125 


ON  AN  IRISH  JAUNTING-CAR 

day  one  of  the  most  bustling  and  pleasant 
garrison  towns. 

The  Shannon  is  crossed  by  three  im- 
portant bridges,  of  which  the  Thomond 
Bridge,  rebuilt  in  1839,  claims  priority 
from  its  ancient  associations.  It  con- 
nects English  Town  with  the  County  Clare, 
the  entrance  from  which,  through  Tho- 
mond Gate,  was  protected  by  the  fort  men- 
tioned above  and  King  John's  Castle. 
It  is  one  of  the  finest  Norman  fortresses 
in  the  kingdom,  and  has  a  river  front  of 
about  two  hundred  feet,  flanked  by  two 
massive  drum  towers  fifty  feet  in  diam- 
eter; the  walls  are  of  great  strength,  be- 
ing ten  feet  thick.  The  northern  tower 
is  the  most  ancient,  and  from  the  bridge 
traces  of  the  cannonading  it  received  in 
its  various  sieges  can  be  clearly  seen. 
It  still  retains  its  ancient  gateway,  but 
the  modern  entrance  is  from  Nicholas 
Street.  Its  venerable  appearance  is  marred 
by  the  addition  of  the  modern  roofs  and 
buildings  of  the  barracks  into  which  the 
interior  was  converted  in  1751.  The  con- 
stableship  of  the  Castle  was  only  abol- 
ished in  1842.  The  "Treaty  Stone/' 
on  which  the  famous  treaty  was  signed 
in  1691,  is  at  the  western  end  of  the  bridge; 
126 


LIMERICK 

it   was   set   upon   its   present   pedestal  in 
1865. 

Limerick  is  famed  for  the  fineness  of 
its  laces,  and  at  one  time  its  gloves  were 
the  most  costly  in  the  market.  Last,  but 
not  least,  it  is  still  famous  for  the  beauty 
of  its  women  —  a  reputation  not  unde- 
served, as  may  be  seen  even  on  a  casual 
stroll  through  the  streets. 


CORK    AND    QUEENSTOWN 

AFTER  the  Limerick  fair  was  over  I  left 
for  Cork,  and  arrived  there  just  in  time 
to  see  the  race  for  the  International  Cup, 
presented  by  Lord  O'Brien  and  won  by 
the  Leander  crew,  of  London.  There  were 
a  hundred  thousand  people  on  the  banks 
of  the  river  Lee  to  see  the  race,  and,  strange 
to  say,  Cork  went  wild  over  an  English 
victory. 

Next  day  I  visited  the  Cork  Exhibi- 
tion. It  had,  like  all  minor  exhibitions 
of  the  kind,  pyramids  of  manufactured 
articles,  including  the  making  of  various 
commodities  by  machinery  on  the  spot. 
But  there  were  a  good  concert  band  and 
a  fine  restaurant.  I  also  dropped  into 
the  Supreme  Court  and  heard  the  Lord 
Chief  Justice  of  Ireland  stop  the  court 
proceedings  to  read  aloud  a  telegram  from 
Emperor  William,  as  well  as  his  reply, 
in  regard  to  the  result  of  the  boat-race. 
Imperial  and  Milesian  "taffy"  flowed 
128 


CORK  AND   QUEENSTOWN 

freely  in  both.  Truly,  Ireland  is  the  land 
of  sport! 

Later  on  I  attended  the  Cork  steeple- 
chase. There  were  five  events  on  the 
card;  the  jumps  were  difficult,  and  one 
horse  was  killed,  while  two  or  three  others 
met  with  accidents. 

I  suppose  as  we  are  now  on  the  last  lap, 
it  would  hardly  be  fair  to  Cork  and  Queens- 
town  to  pass  them  over  without  noticing 
them  historically,  so,  if  the  reader  will 
pardon  me,  I  will  take  up  a  little  more  of 
his  time  to  sketch  briefly  the  salient  feat- 
ures of  these  two  very  interesting  and 
ancient  towns. 

Cork  is  a  mixture  of  some  fine  streets, 
broad  quays,  and  many  ill-paved  lanes, 
the  whole  being  set  off  by  a  charming 
frame  of  scenery  that  compensates  for 
many  a  defect.  It  is  a  county  and  a  city 
with  a  population  of  97,281,  and  is  well 
situated  on  the  Lee,  as  Spenser  thus  de- 
scribes : 

'  The  spreading  Lee  that,  like  an  island  fayre, 
Encloseth  Corke  with  his  divided  floode  " — 

as  it  emerges  from  a  wooded  and  romantic 
valley  upon  a  considerable  extent  of  flat, 
alluvial  ground,  in  its  course,  over  which 
9  129 


ON   AN  IRISH  JAUNTING-CAR 

it  divides.  The  island  thus  formed  com- 
mences about  one  mile  above  the  town,  is 
enclosed  by  the  north  and  south  channels 
of  the  river,  and  contains  a  large  portion 
of  the  city.  "In  1689,"  says  Macaulay, 
"the  city  extended  over  about  one-tenth 
part  of  the  space  which  it  now  covers,  and 
was  intersected  by  muddy  streams  which 
had  long  been  concealed  by  arches  and 
buildings.  A  desolate  marsh,  in  which 
the  sportsman  who  pursued  the  water- 
fowl sank  deep  in  water  and  mire  at  every 
step,  covered  the  area  now  occupied  by 
stately  buildings,  the  palaces  of  great 
commercial  societies." 

Cork  has  over  four  miles  of  quays,  and 
large  sums  of  money  have  been  spent  in 
harbor  improvements;  vessels  drawing 
twenty  feet  of  water  can  discharge  at  all 
stages  of  the  tide. 

The  earliest  notice  of  the  town  dates 
from  the  time  of  St.  Fin  Barre,  who  flourish- 
ed about  the  seventh  century.  He  found- 
ed an  ecclesiastical  establishment  on  the 
south  side  of  the  chief  channel  of  the  Lee, 
and  it  ultimately  attained  to  a  high  rep- 
utation among  the  schools  of  Ireland. 
Then  the  Danes,  after  repeatedly  plunder- 
ing it,  took  a  fancy  to  settling  down  here 
130 


CORK  AND  QUEENSTOWN 

themselves,  and  carried  on  a  somewhat 
flourishing  commerce  until  the  Anglo- 
Norman  invasion.  At  that  time  the  ruling 
power  was  in  the  hands  of  Dermot  Mc- 
Carthy, Lord  of  Desmond,  who  promptly 
made  submission  to  Henry  II.  on  his  ar- 
rival in  1172,  and  did  him  homage.  For 
a  long  period  the  English  held  the  place 
against  the  Irish,  living  in  a  state  of  al- 
most perpetual  siege.  They  were  compelled, 
Holinshed  says,  "  to  watch  their  gates  hour- 
lie,  to  keepe  them  shut  at  service  time,  at 
meales,  from  sun  to  sun,  nor  suffer  anie 
stranger  to  enter  the  citie  with  his  waepon, 
but  the  same  to  leave  at  a  lodge  appointed." 
Camden  also  describes  it  as  "  a  little  trading 
town  of  great  resort,  but  so  beset  by  rebel- 
lious neighbors  as  to  require  as  constant 
a  watch  as  if  continually  besieged." 

Cork  took  an  active  part  in  the  disturbed 
history  of  the  Middle  Ages.  It  declared 
for  Perkin  Warbeck,  and  the  mayor,  John 
Walters,  was  hanged  for  abetting  his  pre- 
tensions. It  was  made  the  headquarters 
of  the  English  forces  during  the  Desmond 
rebellion.  In  1649  it  surrendered  to  Crom- 
well, who  is  said  to  have  ordered  the  bells 
to  be  melted  for  military  purposes,  saying 
that,  "since  gunpowder  was  invented  by 


ON  AN  IRISH  JAUNTING-CAR 

a  priest,  he  thought  the  best  use  for  bells 
would  be  to  promote  them  into  cannons." 

A  noticeable  event  in  its  history  was  the 
siege  by  William  III.'s  army  under  Marl- 
borough  and  the  Duke  of  Wurtemburg, 
when  the  garrison  surrendered  after  hold- 
ing out  five  days;  the  Duke  of  Grafton 
was  killed  on  this  occasion. 

Numerous  monastic  establishments  were 
founded  in  early  times,  nearly  all  traces 
of  which,  as  well  as  of  its  walls  and  castles, 
have  been  swept  away.  In  the  south- 
western district  of  the  city  is  the  old  cathe- 
dral, small  and  very  unlike  what  a  cathe- 
dral should  be.  St.  Fin  Barre,  the  founder 
of  the  cathedral,  was  born  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Bandon,  and  died  at  Cloyne 
in  630.  His  first  religious  establishment 
was  in  an  island  in  Lough  Gouganebarra, 
but  about  the  beginning  of  the  seventh 
century  he  founded  another  on  the  south 
bank  of  the  Lee,  which  became  the  nucleus 
of  the  city  of  Cork.  He  was  buried  here 
in  his  own  church,  and  his  bones  were 
subsequently  enshrined  in  a  silver  case; 
but  these  relics  were  carried  away  by 
Dermot  O'Brien  when  he  plundered  the  city 
in  1089.  There  is  little  of  general  in- 
terest in  the  subsequent  history  of  the 
132 


CORK  AND  gUEENSTOWN 

see.  In  1690,  at  the  siege  of  Cork,  a  de- 
tachment of  English  troops  took  posses- 
sion of  the  cathedral  and  attacked  the 
south  fort  from  the  tower;  the  cathedral 
was  so  much  damaged  that  it  was  taken 
down  in  1734  and  another  erected.  With 
the  exception  of  the  tower,  which  was  be- 
lieved to  have  formed  part  of  the  old  church, 
it  was  a  modern  Doric  building,  with  a 
stumpy  spire  of  wrhite  limestone.  The 
mode  in  which  the  funds  were  raised  for 
its  erection  was  the  levying  of  a  tax  on  all 
the  coal  imported  for  five  years.  This 
building  stood  until  1864,  when  it  was 
taken  down  in  order  to  erect  the  present 
structure  upon  its  site.  A  cannon-ball, 
fired  during  the  siege  of  1690,  was  found 
in  the  tower,  forty  feet  from  the  ground, 
and  is  now  on  a  bracket  within  the  cathe- 
dral. In  laying  the  foundations,  three 
distinct  burial  -  places  were  found,  one 
above  the  other,  and  the  human  remains 
found  exhibited  remarkable  racial  pecu- 
liarities. 

St.  Anne  Shandon  Church  is  at  the 
foot  of  Church  Street,  off  Shandon  Street, 
at  the  north  side  of  the  city ;  it  was  built 
in  1722,  and  is  remarkable  for  its  extraordi- 
nary tower,  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet 
133 


ON  AN  IRISH  JAUNTING-CAR 

high,  surmounted  by  a  graduated  turret  of 
three  stories,  faced  on  two  sides  with  red 
stone,  and  on  the  others  with  limestone. 

"  Party-colored,  like  the  people, 
Red  and  white  stands  Shandon  steeple." 

It  contains  a  peal  of  bells,  immortalized 
by  "  Father  Prout"  in  the  famous  lyric: 

"...  The  Bells  of  Shandon 
That  sound  so  grand  on 
The  pleasant  waters 
Of  the  River  Lee." 

They  bear  the  inscription :  "  We  were 
all  cast  at  Gloucester,  in  England. — Abel 
Rudhall,  1750."  "Father  Prout"  is  buried 
in  the  church-yard  of  Shandon.  Shandon 
derives  its  name  from  Seandun  (old  fort) ; 
the  name  was  given  to  the  church  of  St. 
Mary,  from  its  near  neighborhood  to 
Shandon  Castle,  an  old  seat  of  the 
Barrys. 

On  the  way  down  to  Queenstown  we 
passed  Passage  West,  a  pretty  village  em- 
bosomed in  woods,  and  a  considerable 
place  of  call,  both  for  travelers  and  others 
bound  up  and  down  the  river.  "Father 
Prout"  has  sung  its  praises: 
134 


CORK  AND  QUEENSTOWN 

'  The  town  of  Passage  is  both  large  and  spacious, 

And  situated  upon  the  say; 
"Pis  nate  and  dacent,  and  quite  adjacent 
To  come  from  Cork  on  a  summer's  day. 

"  There  you  may  slip  in  and  take  a  dippin' 

Forenent  the  shippin'  that  at  anchor  ride; 
Or  in  a  wherry  cross  o'er  the  ferry 
To  Carrigaloe,  on  the  other  side." 

Near  here  is  Monkstown,  where  Anas- 
tasia  Gould,  wife  of  John  Archdeckan, 
while  her  husband  was  absent  in  a  foreign 
land,  determined  to  afford  him  a  pleasant 
surprise  by  presenting  him  with  a  castle 
on  his  return.  She  engaged  workmen 
and  made  an  agreement  with  them  that 
they  should  purchase  food  and  clothing 
solely  from  herself.  When  the  castle  was 
completed,  on  balancing  her  accounts  of 
receipt  and  expenditure,  she  found  that 
the  latter  exceeded  the  former  by  four- 
pence.  Probably  this  is  the  first  example 
on  record  of  truck  practice  on  a  large  scale. 
She  died  in  1689,  and  was  buried  in  the 
ground  of  the  adjoining  ruined  church  of 
Teampull-Oen-Bryn,  in  which  is  a  monu- 
ment to  her  memory. 

Queenstovvn  extends  for  a  considerable 
distance  along  the  northern  coast  of  the 
135 


ON  AN  IRISH  JAUNTING-CAR 

harbor,  and  from  its  fine  situation  and  the 
mildness  of  its  climate  ranks  high  among 
the  southern  watering-places.  Queen  Vic- 
toria landed  here  on  August  3,  1849,  of 
which  she  has  written  as  follows:  "To 
give  the  people  the  satisfaction  of  calling 
the  place  'Queenstown/  in  honor  of  its 
being  the  first  spot  on  which  I  set  foot  upon 
Irish  ground,  I  stepped  on  shore  amidst 
the  roar  of  cannon  and  the  enthusiastic 
shouts  of  the  people." 

We  visited  many  banks  at  various  towns 
during  our  trip,  and  were  courteously  re- 
ceived by  the  managers.  The  Irish  banks 
are  managed  on  the  branch  system,  Bel- 
fast and  Dublin  being  the  headquarters 
for  the  parent  corporations.  Belfast  for 
the  most  part  takes  care  of  the  northern 
part  of  the  island,  and  Dublin  the  south- 
ern. These  institutions  are  very  prosper- 
ous and  are  conservatively  managed  by 
intelligent  men.  Banks  are  established  in 
all  towns  of  any  importance,  and  where 
the  population  is  large  they  usually  number 
half  a  dozen. 

At  Queenstown  we  went  on  board  the 
Cunard  steamer  Etruria,  on  Sunday  morn- 
ing, bound  for  New  York.  The  com- 
pany's popular  agent,  Mr.  E.  Dean,  obtain- 
136 


CORK    AND    QUEENSTOWN 

ed  the  captain's  cabin  for  me  on  the  upper 
deck,  and  in  many  other  ways  "killed  me 
with  kindness."  On  looking  back  I  find 
that  my  highest  expectations  of  the  trip 
were  all  fulfilled,  and  I  have  nothing  but 
pleasant  memories  in  connection  with  it. 
There  were,  of  course,  some  bad  moments, 
and  for  that  matter,  bad  days ;  but  they  are 
all  forgotten  in  the  recollection  of  the  kind- 
ly Irish  people  and  the  interesting  land  in 
which  they  live.  I  cannot  recall  a  single 
cross  word  or  hard  look  given  me  by  any 
one  during  the  entire  trip,  excepting  in 
the  Derry  Customs,  and  that  doesn't  count. 
We  traveled  over  three  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  on  jaunting  -  cars,  making  use  of 
twenty-three  of  them.  We  traversed  the 
counties  of  Donegal,  Leitrim,  Sligo,  Mayo, 
and  Clare,  and  used  some  ten  different 
boats  and  steamers  in  completing  our 
journey. 

To  the  readers  of  this  very  imperfect 
sketch  I  would  say  that  should  they  ever 
think  of  following  in  our  footsteps,  they 
should  fully  consider  the  drawbacks  and 
inconveniences  incident  to  the  journey 
before  deciding  to  start.  They  will  meet 
with  wet  days,  some  cheerless,  damp  hotels, 
and  sometimes  poor  cooking;  they  will 
137 


ON  AN  IRISH  JAUNTING-CAR 

probably  not  be  able  to  get  on  as  quickly 
or  conveniently  as  I  did,  for  I  was  born  in 
Ireland  and  know  the  ways  of  the  country 
and  its  people.  But  if  they  have  in  them 
the  innate  desire  to  see  some  of  the  finest 
natural  scenery  in  the  world,  and  by  all 
odds  the  greatest  display  of  verdure  in  all 
its  varying  shades  and  colors,  then  perhaps 
they  may  risk  the  many  disappointing 
conditions  that  must  be  overcome  if  they 
would  see  Ireland  at  its  best. 

"  Immortal  little  island !    no  other  land   or  clime 
Has  placed  more  deathless  heroes  in  the  Pantheon 
of  Time." 


THE  END 


University  of  California 

SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 

405  Hilgard  Avenue,  Los  Angeles,  CA  90024-1388 

Return  this  material  to  the  library 

from  which  it  was  borrowed. 


WK2  Mi 

IUN  0  5 


l58  01028  5202 


000102597    2 


mm 


